Raiders get day off with eye toward preseason opener

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021 | 2 a.m.

Two weeks into training camp and with the first preseason game looming on Saturday, Raiders coach Jon Gruden made a last-minute decision on Wednesday morning — to give his team the day off.

Instead of practicing at their Henderson headquarters as usual, the Raiders eschewed the day’s scheduled outdoor practice in favor of lifting weights and personal maintenance.

It was a move designed to re-energize the roster, and 30-year-old quarterback Derek Carr said it worked.

“It wasn’t a day off,” Carr said. “We were still working, just in the weight room with [strength coach A.J. Neibel], with the trainers and [assistant athletic trainer Chris] Cortez.”

The decision to grant the day off was a last-minute one, as players had already suited up in pads and media had been given access to the practice fields. Local youth football players were gathered along the sideline, expecting to observe the training camp session.

Instead, a few minutes after the morning session had been scheduled to begin, a team spokesman alerted everyone that practice had been canceled. A group of Raiders players emerged from the indoor training facility in full pads and crossed the outdoor field to greet the youths; a moment later, the Raiders returned indoors and the media was escorted back to the interview room inside team headquarters.

Carr said the late change came as a surprise to him, but he understood Gruden’s reasoning.

According to Carr, Gruden has been pleased with the team’s intensity level and doesn’t want to overwork the roster at this point in camp.

“I would say that our team has been working really hard,” Carr said. “It’s been a highly competitive camp, probably the most competitive camp I’ve been a part of. When you watch the film you see the effort. You see some of the big guys, they’re a little tired. You see some things — you don’t want injuries to happen … that’s his job to take care of the team. That was his call. We had no idea.”

Maybe even more than Carr, the players at two of the game’s more physically demanding positions were happy not to bang on their teammates for a day.

“It felt amazing,” defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins said. “For a minute I thought I was still dreaming. But I appreciate Gruden looking out. We’ve been busting our tail out there, so I definitely respect him for looking out for us. Definitely with the preseason game coming up, guys will be more fresh, more active to be out there to show what they can do.”

Fullback Alec Ingold was glad to see his teammates take the day seriously, even with no on-field activity.

“It’s not a day to relax,” Ingold said. “It’s a day to get your body right, get those legs right, get everybody prepared for Week 1 of the preseason.”

Las Vegas will return to practice on Thursday, and Seattle will visit on Saturday for the preseason opener.

One downside of the day off, according to Carr, was having to delay his revenge plot. After the defense got the better of the offense in Tuesday’s practice, Carr said he was looking forward to payback on Wednesday.

“I was ready after the defense got after us a little yesterday,” he said. “I was talking trash in the locker room, so I was ready to kick the crap out of them today. I told them coach gave them a free pass, so they’ll have to wait one more day for it.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.