It is what it is.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was seemingly unfazed by Dana White’s recent assertion that he helped negotiate a deal to bring Tom Brady to Las Vegas in 2020.
“It really doesn’t matter,” Carr said on Tuesday when asked asked about White’s claim, which the UFC president revealed Saturday during ESPN’s “UFC 278 with the Gronks” broadcast.
“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. And hopefully, no more drama in the city. That’s what I hope.”
Derek Carr at a press conference on Aug. 23, 2022. Getty ImagesCarr — who’s been with the Raiders since 2014 — added that he hopes “by now” he is immune to stories about his future with the team.
“It is what it is,” he said.
White’s comments rocked the NFL world on Saturday, when he alleged he brokered a deal for both Brady and Rob Gronkowski to join the Raiders in 2020 — but Jon Gruden nixed it.
“I worked to put that deal together for Brady and Gronk to come to the Raiders,” White said. “It was almost a done deal. And at the last minute, [Jon] Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn’t want him and all hell broke loose, man. It was crazy.
“And Brady was already looking at houses. It wasn’t said yet that Gronk was going to be coming. So Las Vegas would have had Brady and Gronk the year that the Bucs won the Super Bowl except Gruden blew the deal up.”
Gruden resigned last October after an explosive New York Times report revealed he had used homophobic and misogynistic language in emails over a seven-year period ending in 2018. Gruden previously signed a 10-year deal to coach Las Vegas in 2018.
During an appearance on HBO’s “The Shop” [now on Uninterrupted] last June, Brady called an unnamed quarterback a “motherf–ker,” while revealing a mystery team passed on him in free agency. White’s comments renewed chatter that Carr was the quarterback Brady was referencing.
Carr said he did not immediately hear of White’s comments as he was helping someone in the Raiders organization deal with a death.
“It was a moment to put things in perspective,” he said.
Tom Brady (left) and Derek Carr after an Oct. 25, 2020 game. Getty ImagesRaiders owner Mark Davis played coy when asked about White’s comments, telling the Las Vegas Review-Journal in part: “I don’t know, man. Talk to Dana. I remember that Tom Brady went to Tampa Bay. That’s basically what I remember. I have no idea. Dana has the stories.”
Carr has made it clear that he’s focusing on football and blocking outside noise as the Raiders prepare for the coming season.
Last month, the quarterback vowed to “be more honest” and “start speaking [his] mind}” after hitting back at chatter that Las Vegas will struggle to compete in a stacked AFC West — which includes quarterbacks Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert.
“That crap don’t matter, you know. We have to go play the football games, and that’s honestly how I feel,” the 31-year-old Carr said in July.






