It’s his first year in Las Vegas, but it didn’t take long for Raiders wide receiver John Brown to mention a name that has plenty of history with the silver and black.
At training camp on Monday, Brown compared Raiders quarterback Derek Carr to former Raiders QB Carson Palmer. For long-time fans of the franchise, that comparison might not sound good at all. But Brown played with Palmer on the Cardinals after Palmer left the Raiders following the 2012 season.
Palmer, a Heisman Trophy winner at USC, was successful in Arizona, compiling a 38-21-1 record and amassing 16,782 yards in five seasons. Brown was one of his targets from 2014 — his rookie year — to 2017. In 2015, Brown had one of his two career 1,000-yard campaigns. Palmer started every game that year.
Palmer was a 10-year veteran at that point, and Brown sees the same mature qualities in Carr, himself an 8-year vet. Plus, Brown likes how Carr has confidence in his receivers.
“The relationship is working out well,’ Brown said of Carr during media availability on Monday. “He kind of reminds me of Carson Palmer, you know, taking that veteran role. And he believes in his guys and he gives his guys chances. So just to be around him, it’s a blessing.”
In fact, Brown likes Carr’s game so much, it’s what drew him to the Raiders as a free agent.
“As far as the decision I made, it’s a quarterback decision,” Brown said. “Who would I like to play for? And when I was with Buffalo, watching Derek Carr last year, and seeing the style of offense, I fell in love with it right then and there. I wanted to be a part of it.”
That’s high praise for Carr, and for coach Jon Gruden, too. But while Brown rightfully sees Palmer as an example of stellar QB play, many Raiders fans and observers don’t hold Palmer in high regard.
He had an 8-16 record with the then Oakland Raiders, arriving in the Bay Area via trade in 2011 after starting QB Jason Campbell went down with an injury. The Raiders traded two draft picks to the Bengals in the deal, including a first-round choice.
Palmer started hot with the Raiders, but he wilted late — along with a porous Raiders defense — and he ended up with 13 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 2011, compiling a 4-5 record. That mark put the Raiders at 8-8 and out of the playoffs.
That’s actually one more similarity between Carr and Palmer — they’ve each played on Raiders teams with terrible defenses, including in 2012, when Palmer threw for more than 4,000 yards but compiled a 4-11 record. (Bonus info: both quarterbacks were born in Fresno, Calif.)
But Brown only knows the Palmer who helped resurrect a dormant Cardinals franchise with his veteran leadership and elite skill. That’s what he sees in Carr, and that’s why Brown is in Las Vegas.
The history of the Raiders is certainly vast, and it’s not clear if Brown knows much about Palmer’s time with the team. But he definitely seems ready to make his own Raiders history — of the glorious variety — with Carr in Las Vegas.