Derek Carr took a hands on this offseason, helping the Raiders and offensive coordinator Todd Downing land two highly desired free agents: tight end Jared Cook and wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.
"He's pretty hands on with everything when it comes to football. He lives around the area, hopped in when we needed him and it paid off," Downing said Thursday, according to the Bay Area News Group.
Carr, who resides in the neighboring suburb of Dublin, said recently he's a "Raider for life." Because of Carr's immense passion for the club, it was no surprise to the coaching staff that the signal-caller expressed interest in recruiting during free agency.
Cook said during his meeting with Carr, the two discussed the tight end's potential role with the offense.
"Yeah, me and him sat in on a meeting," Cook said soon after signing. "We watched some film together today. Love the kid, man. He's cool. He's a real down to earth guy. I enjoy talking with him about the offensive system and different plays that they run and how they see me fitting in this offense.
"(I'm) just another weapon for Derek to use, man. To be able to stretch the field, get down to the secondary at a fast pace, create separations off different routes ... it gives him a different elements to put the ball in different places and keep the chains moving."
Patterson expressed a similar sentiment.
"I met him the night before (I signed)," Patterson said at the time. "He popped up, said hello to me and was telling me how he would love to have me here and I can help them on offense and special teams."
