David Carr

David Duke Carr (born July 21, 1979) is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Houston Texans first overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State.

Carr has also played for the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants.

Early years
Carr attended Stockdale High School in Bakersfield.

College career
Carr began as the starting quarterback at Fresno State during the 2000 and 2001 seasons after redshirting in 1999. While he was quarterback, the Bulldogs went 7-5 and 11-3. In his senior season the team beat Colorado, Oregon State, and Wisconsin, all members of BCS conferences. There was speculation about whether the Bulldogs would qualify for a BCS bid, something then unprecedented for a 'Mid Major' conference team. They climbed to as high as number 8 in the polls, and Carr was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. During his collegiate career Carr completed 587 of 934 passes for 7,849 yards. He threw 70 touchdowns versus 23 interceptions. Carr collected the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award during his senior year.

On September 1, 2007, the Fresno State Bulldogs retired jersey #8 in honor of Carr.

Houston Texans
With the first overall pick of 2002 NFL Draft, the expansion Houston Texans selected Carr. He would go on to start all but 4 games for the team in its first five years. Carr's professional career began on a productive note. The Texans played their first regular season game on September 8, 2002, defeating the Dallas Cowboys, 19-10 at Houston's Reliant Stadium. Houston became just the second expansion team to win their first game. The Texans won four games that season. Carr also became the most sacked quarterback in a single season of the NFL, being sacked 76 times. David also set the NFL record for fumble recoveries in a single season (recovering 12 of his own). With Carr under center the Texans improved in each of the next two years, finishing 5-11 in 2003 and 7-9 in 2004. Carr's 2004 campaign was his best statistically, as he finished with his highest career passer rating and threw for over 3,500 yards.

In 2005, the Texans won only one of their first ten games, finishing the season with a 2-14 record. Plagued by injuries and an ineffective offensive line that limited both the running and passing games, Carr still managed to throw for over 2,500 yards while being sacked 68 times. Despite the dropoff, the Texans exercised an option in Carr's contract that extended him for three years.

The Texans finished the 2006 season at 6-10. For the season, Carr posted a completion percentage of 68.9% (a career high) and tied the single game NFL record of 22 consecutive pass completions (vs. the Buffalo Bills). However, new Texans general manager Rick Smith decided to go in a different direction at quarterback. Thus, the Texans acquired Matt Schaub from the Atlanta Falcons and decided to part ways with Carr.

Carolina Panthers
Carr agreed to terms with the Carolina Panthers on April 6, 2007. Following an injury to starting quarterback Jake Delhomme, Carr was named the starter. Carr suffered a back injury during the fifth game of the season (a victory vs. the New Orleans Saints) on a sack by Will Smith, and saw limited action during the remainder of the 2007 season, being replaced by Vinny Testaverde and Matt Moore. He was released on February 27, 2008.

New York Giants
On March 12, 2008, Carr signed a one-year contract with the New York Giants, reuniting with former Houston offensive coordinator Chris Palmer. Subsequently, the Giants released former backup quarterback Jared Lorenzen. Carr backed up Eli Manning for two seasons, primarily playing in blowout games. In the 2009 offseason, Carr was re-signed to a one-year, $2 million contract on February 9, 2009. In his two years with the Giants, Carr saw action in seven games and threw three total touchdown passes.

San Francisco 49ers
On March 7, 2010, Carr agreed to terms with the San Francisco 49ers, he is to serve as a back-up to Alex Smith.

Carr was put into the 49ers Week 7 game against the Carolina Panthers after Smith suffered a shoulder injury. Carr played poorly which contributed to the Niners loss. For Week 8 against the Denver Broncos Carr was passed over for the start in favor of 3rd string QB Troy Smith.

Personal
David is the son of Roger and Shery Carr. He has two brothers, one of whom (Derek) is a sophomore quarterback at California State University, Fresno. He also has an uncle who played in the NFL with the Raiders and 49ers.

Carr and his wife Melodie have three sons: Austin, Tyler and Cooper.