NAPA, Calif. -- The only left tackle Derek Carr has ever known in the NFL is Donald Penn. So with the Oakland Raiders gearing up for their preseason opener Saturday night at the Arizona Cardinals, and Penn's holdout lasting 10 practices and counting now, Carr will have a different feel when it comes to his blind side getting protected in a game.
So long as Carr plays, that is.
"They haven't talked to us about it, honestly," Carr said following Wednesday's practice, when asked if he expected to play in Arizona.
"Yeah, usually around today or tomorrow they'll let us know those kind of things. I hope I do. That's up to the coaches. I don't think I've shown any signs of [last December's broken fibula] all offseason and then now. I hope that I'm out there, but we'll see. When coach comes up and tells me, he'll let me know."
If Carr does play, it would be the first game action he will see since he suffered that season-ending injury on Christmas Eve.
And it would be with Marshall Newhouse, a veteran free agent signed this offseason to compete for the right tackle position, protecting Carr's blind side.
Plus, the Raiders are also breaking in a new right tackle in second-year player Vadal Alexander.
"I'm not going to lie, those guys have had great camps," Carr said of Newhouse and Alexander. "I watch them go against Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin and it doesn't get much harder than that, than those two, right? You get some guys that are similar, right? But it's not going to be harder.
"They're doing a good job. Obviously, Khalil and Bruce, they're going to make their plays but for the most part, [Marshall and Vadal] are giving me all the time I need to get the ball out of my hands, and you guys know, I am trying to get the ball out like that."
Carr snapped his fingers.
"I think that they've done a phenomenal job, so I really haven't noticed like, 'Oh my goodness, Bruce is punching me in the back every time,'" Carr added. "It hasn't been like that."
Carr also gave credit to cornerback TJ Carrie for his practice-ending pick-six down the right sideline, saying Carrie simply made a good play on a well-thrown ball.
A new points chart created by new offensive coordinator Todd Downing credits Carr with two points for a "perfect ball," one points for "it's catchable, but we could have better" and zero points for "bad throwing, incomplete," Carr said.
Carr was trying to hit K.J. Brent in the 2-minute drill when Carrie made the play.
"TJ made a great jump," Carr said. "He read the play and he jumped it. That kind of stuff is going to happen. As long as I'm going to the right place with the ball, I'll be OK. But if I'm making dumb decisions, then I'll be mad.
"As long as we're going in the right direction, which based on the charts we are, that lets me know, ‘OK, I'm doing the right things in the offseason. I'm doing the right things film study-wise and so on and so forth.' But I have to make those better."