I can't blame him. Who can, really, if we're honest? The amount of money going out every other minute to someone new on the NFL transaction wire has to have every player thinking about one specific thing: when they're going to receive their own big payday? For a restricted free agent like Brandon Carr, he's realizing that he's going to have to sit and wait.
One thing he's not doing, however, is being silent about having to do so. A simple Tweet last night acknowledged his situation when he posted, "Guess I gotta play the waiting game..." It's a simple statement that easily fits into the "no harm, no foul" category. But it's also interesting since the current Chiefs regime has solidified the idea that they like their drama of any kind to be kept at a minimum.
Obviously, that post on Twitter is hardly a source of major friction or distraction for the rest of the team. But it does signify a frustrated athlete -- one who would rather have an extension in hand than wait it out. And Carr has certainly played himself into a nice extension -- if and when it comes. For Carr to have to share the draft spotlight with Brandon Flowers and play next to him for these last few years is a tall order, yet Carr has established himself not only with KC fans but across the NFL for his good-to-great play in the secondary.
Stats, Inc. recently praised Carr alongside the game's great corners like Darrelle Revis recently with a post saying, "Carr is the forgotten man of the Chiefs' impressive young secondary; most people focus on Brandon Flowers and safety Eric Berry, and justifiably so. But Carr isn't just assembling stats against pikers while Flowers (who ranked 11th among cornerbacks with a 49.5% burn rate) takes all the tough duty. He's been just as important, especially in diagnosing and covering cluster formations on the other side of the one-on-one battles Flowers frequently has."
That's high praise and might demonstrate the reason that Carr wishes Scott Pioli would show him a gesture that appreciates the exemplary play on the field. But think back to 2009 when Brian Waters came to KC in the offseason wanting a show of respect and appreciation with a meeting and how that worked out. The Don calls the shots. So if Pioli wants Carr to have his extension, he'll get it. Until then, it just won't happen -- Twitter or not.
It will be interesting to see what else Carr will say about the situation or whether or not the Chiefs will even look to address it at this point in the offseason. Certainly there are bigger fish to fry to fill roster slots for now, but perhaps a good faith gesture might be a reasonable move toward Carr from the Chiefs.