Derek Carr & where he stands with Henry Ruggs III following accident

Henry Ruggs III entered the weekend as possibly the next budding star of an NFL franchise. At the end of the weekend, the young receiver was sitting in a courtroom awaiting judgment for a DUI charge that resulted in a death.

According to Sports Illustrated, Ruggs was reportedly driving 156 miles per hour when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the back of a Toyota Rav 4 which carried a 23 year-old female driver and her dog. The receivers' bail was set at $150,000 and he's required to be electronically monitored.

His next court date is on November 10.

Derek Carr on Henry Ruggs III

On the night of the crash, before the incident took place, quarterback Derek Carr had texted with Ruggs. Ruggs sent out texts to him and fellow receiver Hunter Renfrow while at Top Golf around midnight.

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He jokingly asked Carr for golf swing tips. When Carr woke up in the morning, he saw the news about the crash. Speaking to the media, Carr said he hasn't reached out to the receiver since the incident.

"I haven't reached out, I will always be here for him," Carr said. "That won't change, and I'll prove that over the course of time to him...He needs people to love him right now. He's probably feeling a certain type of way about himself right now, and he needs to be loved. And if no one else will do it, I'll do it."

Derek Carr had to step up as a leader in 2021 after news broke about Jon Gruden's emails. With an interim head coach in place, Carr may be the most legitimate leader of the team this season.

As such, it seems the team may be looking to him to help guide the 5-2 team through what has been a roller coaster of a season.

Since releasing Henry Ruggs III, the Las Vegas Raiders have only three active receivers on the depth chart. It will be up to Derek Carr to continue to steer the team through an unorthodox season in which the perennial leader Kansas City Chiefs have stumbled.

In Ruggs' absence, tight end Darren Waller will have to carry even more of the offensive workload.

Las Vegas Raiders Wide Receiver Henry Ruggs III involved in fatal DUI Crash

In addition, the current three receivers on the team will need to step up to help overcome the loss of Ruggs. The Las Vegas Raiders face the New York Giants this weekend and will face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football in Week 10.

About the author

Ian brings with him more than 6.5 years of sports writing experience to the Sportskeeda NFL team. He played offensive line in middle school and high school, and also made it to the top 0% matchmaking ranking in MUT play in Madden.

He possesses the quality of identifying unique story angles from quotes in press conferences, social media and interviews. He assimilates facts for his stories with a lawyer-like precision and verifies each and every piece of information.

Ian admires Peyton Manning for his ability to beat teams with his mind despite not being the best athlete, and is also a fan of Tom Brady. The Denver Broncos are his favorite team, and their Super Bowl 50 win in Manning’s last game is etched in his memory forever. Bill Belichick is his all-time favorite coach.

He has also grown to admire the Los Angeles Rams mainly because he and Cooper Kupp went to the same college, Eastern Washington University, with both finishing their college careers at the same time.

In his career so far, Ian has had the privilege of exclusively interviewing Los Angeles Rams General Manager Les Snead, Kwity Paye of the Indianpolis Colts and Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jamari Thrash. When not writing, he likes to play video games and be outdoors.

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