Ride-Along With Derek Carr Sold Jordy Nelson On Joining The Raiders

When Jordy Nelson flew out to the Bay Area to take his first free agent visit after being released by the Packers, the Raiders were aggressive in their efforts to bring him on board. The contract offer was a good one, but the decision for Nelson was more than about money.

The closer in the deal, according to Nelson, was Derek Carr and his efforts to help Nelson feel comfortable moving to the area. Speaking with Scott Bair on his NBC Sports Bay Area podcast, Nelson talked about his evening spent riding around with Carr and shared the most important detail of his decision to move to a new city:

“Honestly, when Derek drove me around the area and kind of showed me where he lived and where some of the other guys lived… that’s when I understood that I could raise my family for the next couple years because that was first and foremost in my mind to make that decision, it necessarily wasn’t about football. It was more about family. I wasn’t going to sacrifice their life and their joy in what they’re going to have day-to-day just because I wanted to be in a certain spot.”

Carr and Nelson seemed to hit it off quickly during Nelson’s visit and it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they form a similar connection on the field.

All the offseason talk has been about Amari Cooper and the big season he has coming under Jon Gruden, but keep an eye on Nelson, who has better hands and has been more effective in the redzone than Cooper. If reports are accurate that Nelson is running with the same top-end speed as ever, the crafty vet might be in for an impressive season in Gruden’s offense.

Just a guess, but assuming both players are able to stay healthy, Nelson might just end up offering the better bang for your buck when it comes to fantasy football. He’s going to have a big year. You heard it here first.

twitter: @raidersbeat