Raiders Matchup With Texans A Family Affair For McDaniels, Carr
Oct 21, 2022, 9:04 AM
Houston Texans quarterback David Carr (8) high fives some fans as he leaves the field .The Houston Texans defeated the Cleveland Browns 14-6 , Dec. 31, 2006 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/NFLPhotoLibrary)
(Photo by Bob Levey/NFLPhotoLibrary)
When the Las Vegas Raiders face off against the Houston Texans on Sunday, the matchup comes with plenty of family connections.
In 2002, the inaugural season for the Texans, the team drafted David Carr first overall. David is Raiders quarterback Derek Carr’s older brother.
Derek was asked about his memories of Houston when he was younger, watching his brother play.
“I was like one of their first fans ever and so many memories in what was Reliant Stadium,” Derek said. “I have so many memories there. I played on the field with the little mascot as a kid, so many memories watching my brother play there. People who became friends like Andre Johnson and all these guys and watching them play.”
Derek went on to say that before former owner Bob McNair passed away in 2018, he was always nice to his family, especially his brother and parents.
“I mean everyone was just so first-class to us and I’ll always be thankful for that. I always had my Texans jersey, and I was always a fan,” Derek said. “When I was getting drafted, I wanted to go there. They didn’t pick me first, but I was like maybe 33rd. But they didn’t want me, so I was kind of a little heartbroken over that, but it is what it is. I think nine years down the road some of those feelings have gone away, but I have the utmost respect for their organization just because of the way they treated my family.”
Said he was one of the first-ever #Texans fans and had good memories – except for Houston NOT drafting enough O-linemen to protect his brother David, who was sacked 76 times as a rookie for the expansion team. Was smiling throughout.
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) October 19, 2022
The Carr family connection is not the only one that’ll play out Sunday. Raiders coach Josh McDaniels will face off against his brother Ben, the Texans’ wide receiver coach and passing game coordinator. Josh jokingly said he’s trying to recruit his parents to cheer on the Black & Silver this Sunday.
“I’ve got a lot of respect and admiration for my brother and the job he does,” Josh said. “He’s a very good coach, and these are fun things to look back on years from now talking about you know, when we’ve played each other and coached against one another.”
