Derek Carr recalls a moment when crossing paths with new Raider NaVarro Bowman

Derek Carr remembers teasing NaVarro Bowman at the Pro Bowl in Honolulu in 2015 that they should be teammates with the Oakland Raiders.

Now, they are. Bowman was unexpectedly released Friday by the San Francisco 49ers and on Monday signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Raiders.

Carr recalls, “We’re standing there having a conversation.‘You know it wouldn’t be bad if you came and played for the Raiders.’ And he started laughing. He was like, ‘Oh, man, it would be fun. Maybe one day we can play together.’

“First thing we brought up was, ‘Hey, do you remember that conversation?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, I remember.’ So now that it happened, it’s an amazing thing.”

Bowman spent his first seven NFL seasons in San Francisco, enjoying the highs (Super Bowl in February 2013) and lows (the 49ers are winless this year).

He fills a Raiders void at middle linebacker and brings veteran leadership to a team that’s reeling with four straight losses and looking for a spark with Thursday’s AFC West showdown looming against the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Hey, I’m going to show you something,” Bowman says. “We’re 2-4, two games behind. I love the challenge. I think the guys do, too. It’s about how you respond to adversity, not about when it happens. I look forward to it.”

Bowman had multiple offers this weekend but says it was an easy decision for him to choose staying in the Bay Area – he has three school-age children, 5-year-old twin daughters and an 8-year-old son.

“They’re doing really well, so you always want to keep that going as a parent. You don’t want to keep switching them in and out. That played a big part in what I was going to do.”

This story was originally published October 17, 2017 at 8:25 AM with the headline "Derek Carr recalls a moment when crossing paths with new Raider NaVarro Bowman."