Raiders QB Derek Carr to 'just keep trying to play football' amid Tom Brady rumors

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr admitted this past spring he wouldn't have been shocked if newly-hired general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels would've wanted to go in a different direction as it pertains to the sport's most important position. 

They didn't, as Carr signed a three-year extension with the club reportedly worth up to $121.5M that could keep him attached to the organization through at least the 2025 season. However, the 31-year-old then found his name in headlines over the weekend when UFC boss Dana White claimed during Saturday's "UFC 278 with The Gronks" ESPN broadcast that he had put a "deal together" for signal-caller Tom Brady and future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski to join the Raiders in 2020 before then-head coach Jon Gruden allegedly scrapped the plans. 

A subsequent report said Raiders owner Mark Davis "knew exactly what was happening" regarding replacing Carr with Brady following the 2019 campaign. 

According to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN, Carr said Tuesday he did not initially learn of White's story on Saturday, in part because he was helping somebody within the Raiders' franchise deal with a death. 

"It was a moment to put things in perspective," Carr explained. "It really doesn't matter. At the end of the day, anything I say will just be blasted out there so I'm just going to completely remove myself and just keep trying to play football. It's been nice just answering football questions.

"Hopefully, no more drama in the city."

As for Brady, he likely will finish one final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before he rides off into the sunset of a full-time playing retirement and joins Fox Sports as lead NFL analyst on a deal that reportedly will earn him $375M over 10 years.