Derek Carr stepped away from the NFL last offseason because his shoulder would not hold up. But a year removed from his game, he has not shut the door on a return, and he’s clear about what it would take for him to come back.

“I’ll never say never,” Carr said on Good Morning Football. “It would take a special situation. There’s multiple teams that reached out to me this offseason, and I won’t say who or how, but they reached out and [were] just gauging my interests on what I wanted to do. And they were good, solid football teams, but a couple of them in some different situations.

“I think I’m just at the point where I just want to win, man. I want to win, and I want to do those things. And so, if I were to do it, it would have to be a special team that maybe lost somebody or needed somebody. But even then, it’s not guaranteed. I’m having too much fun hanging out with my wife, hanging out with my kids, and trying to get good at golf. So it would take a special deal, but I’m always training.”

This stance isn’t exactly new for Carr. He’s repeated the “never say never” line ever since he retired. Analysts have been linking him to QB-needy teams with every hint of an unretirement he drops. Carr has even floated the idea of a Las Vegas Raiders reunion multiple times on his Home Grown podcast, even though the franchise is locked in on building around Fernando Mendoza – the No. 1 overall 2026 draft pick – for their future.

Las Vegas isn’t the only team with Carr on its radar, though. The Bengals had reached out to him last year when their quarterback Joe Burrow went down with a turf toe injury. The Saints still hold his rights, so any team wishing to get Carr would have to go through New Orleans first. Reports have also suggested that Carr no longer has any shoulder limitations, and he has often shared scenes from his home showing him training with his kids.

Carr’s been ready for a return for a while, and that’s why his “just want to win” line matters even more. He doesn’t miss the grind, and he will only return if the situation lets him compete right away. Carr has also said that all he wants to do is “see the Raiders win a Super Bowl.” That same mindset and drive also shows up when Carr talks about Mendoza. He is not trying to block the rookie Raider, but setting expectations for how this should work in Las Vegas instead.

“Breaks all my records”: Derek Carr’s high hope for Mendoza

Carr’s conversation with the GMFB crew also turned to Fernando Mendoza, and the 4x Pro Bowler laid out exactly what Mendoza needs to do with the Raiders to become the franchise quarterback they want him to be.

“So happy for the Raiders to get a young quarterback in there,” Carr said. “But my goal and my hope for him is that he gets time to learn, because going from that offense he was running in Indiana and going to what Klint [Kubiak, head coach] is going to ask him to do in that offense, the reads, seeing the defense, different things. Now they’re going to be able to help him with the boots and the screens and the play action.

“But for me, I just hope that he has time to just learn and grow in this game because 3rd down in two minutes is a lot different in the Big Ten. It’s a lot different in the NFL. So, there’s going to be a learning curve, and I hope that there’s patience for him. But I wish him the best. I hope he breaks all my records, man. I’m a Raider fan, so I just want to see him do well.”

That’s a big ask from Carr if you look at the legacy he left behind in Sin City. He left the Raiders with the franchise records for career passing yards (35,222), touchdown passes (217), completions (3,201), and attempts (4,958). If that’s not enough, he also holds the single-season record for touchdown passes in a season with 32 in 2015, and he became the only Raiders QB with four straight 3,900-yard seasons. That’s the bar Carr wants Mendoza to chase, whether he ends up starting in Year 1 or not.

Now, Mendoza knows the climb is going to be steep; that’s why he has maintained that he’s at the “bottom of the totem pole.” Despite winning the National Championship and the Heisman with Indiana, he came to the league with questions about his footwork, anticipation, and the ability to handle NFL speed.

Derek Carr’s message is simple: he won’t come back unless he can win. He wants Fernando Mendoza to get the same chance, but only if the organization gives him the time to earn it. The standard is clear for both of them: win now, or just wait your turn. Mendoza, noting cultural similarities between Kubiak’s system and the one he had in Indy, has already given the biggest line on his 2026 plans: “The only motivation is getting better.”