Raiders' Carr to wear arm sleeve in honor of Kobe this season

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr grew up idolizing Kobe Bryant and plans to honor the late Los Angeles Lakers icon this season by sporting a sleeve on his left arm during games.

"This is a personal thing. I don't care what anybody else thinks about it - this is for me," Carr said Tuesday on a Zoom call with reporters, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. "What would be a cool way to honor Kobe Bryant? He always wore an arm sleeve on his (right) arm - I can't wear one on my right (passing) arm, so I was like, 'You know what, I'll wear one on my left arm.' It's really just to honor Kobe."

"He meant so much to me."@derekcarrqb will wear an arm band this year as a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant. pic.twitter.com/iJKr16LuYs

- Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) August 4, 2020

Bryant died in helicopter crash on Jan. 26 along with eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. Carr said he believes other NFL players will pay tribute to him as well this season.

"As a kid, I watched every YouTube video, I watched every game," Carr said. "I would tell my dad by the way (Kobe) ran down the court, 'Oh, this is going to be a post-up fadeaway. He set him up last time, this is a fadeaway.' And it would happen. I just watched everything.

"He meant so much to me, and then when I got to know him, I got to talk to him, and then he followed me on Twitter, that blew my mind. That was the day of my life, so to speak."

Carr and the Raiders are scheduled to open the season against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 13.

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