What did Raiders QB Derek Carr say about his recent meeting with Rich Gannon?

Former Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon made a visit to mandatory minicamp in June. That was good news for Derek Carr as he enters his first year with coach Jon Gruden.

The ex-Fresno State star told The Bee he learned a lot from the ex-Raiders quarterback.

“Any player can benefit from being around a veteran player and learning about their experiences,” Carr said. “I am very grateful that Gannon was able to spend time and I always appreciate his time. I am constantly working to improve on every facet of my game, every day I go to work.”

Gannon had plenty of success when he had Gruden as his head coach.

Gannon arrived in Oakland in 1999 and was with Gruden for three seasons. The quarterback flourished in Gruden’s system, throwing for 11,098 yards and 79 touchdowns.

In those three seasons, the Raiders were 32-18 with two postseason appearances.

Gruden wasn’t around in Oakland in 2002 when Gannon was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. The coach was traded after the 2001 season to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who defeated the Raiders 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Gannon, now an analyst for CBS Sports, was back at Raiders minicamp in early June and saw first-hand how Gruden and Carr got along.

“He’s all football, he loves it,” Gannon told Raiders.com of Carr. “He loves competing, but his aptitude to me was really impressive — his ability to process a ton of volume and information and responsibility in the huddle at the line of scrimmage. They’re going to put a lot on his shoulders and he can certainly handle it.”

This story was originally published July 18, 2018 at 12:02 PM.