Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Banged-up Raiders mum on playing time plans for preseason game

Las Vegas travels to Canton, Ohio today for Hall of Fame Game against Jacksonville

2022 July 27: Raiders Training Camp

Steve Marcus

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham (3) passes during the teams first fully padded practice during training camp at the Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters/Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center in Henderson Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

2022 July 30: Raiders Training Camp

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver DJ Turner (19) carries the ball during NFL football training camp Saturday, July 30, 2022, in Henderson, Nev. Launch slideshow »

Raiders running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu could barely contain his excitement Monday morning after the team finished its final practice ahead of facing the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL’s preseason opener Thursday night.  

The veteran assistant grinned wide, shuffled his feet and talked about his anticipation of getting to bring the team to the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, and seeing them in action. He just couldn’t exactly say who was going to be in action, not even among his group of eight currently rostered running backs.

 “We’re still talking through it, but they’re excited for the opportunity,” Polamalu said of the running back rotation. “If they get 10 plays or they get 30 plays or they get no plays at all, they’re going to have a mindset that they’re going to be ready for the preseason.”

That sentiment has been the company line among all the Raiders’ coaches who have filtered in for news conferences since the start of training camp two weeks ago. The staff has given no indication on which players will be available for kickoff at 5 p.m. Thursday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in new coach Josh McDaniels’ debut on the Raiders’ sideline.

A slew of recent practice absences, potentially adding to a relatively lengthy list of known injuries, has further complicated trying to figure out the preseason depth chart. Six defenders who were considered likely starters before training camp were not at practice Monday.

Three of them — defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, defensive tackle Bilal Nichols and cornerback Trayvon Mullen — haven’t appeared yet as they’re all on the physically unable to perform list. The biggest new concern might be with edge rusher Chandler Jones, who missed his fourth straight practice Monday. Cornerbacks Rock Ya-Sin and Anthony Averett were also missing Monday, though it’s possible the staff just gave them a maintenance day.  

Like Jones, defensive lineman Clelin Ferrell has missed four straight practices. Safety Roderic Teamer hasn’t practiced in more than a week after colliding with safety Johnathan Abram, and linebackers Micah Kiser and Kyler Fackrell were both added to injured reserve within the last five days.

Fewer players have missed time on offense, though tight end Darren Waller has been absent the last two practices. The Raiders are not required to release an injury report until week one, and McDaniels isn’t sharing any specifics in the meantime.

“Everybody gets nicks and bruises at this time of the year, and so the guys that are able to go out there and work in full will be out there,” he said. “And anybody that’s not, we’ll just try to do everything we can to get them back to health and get them out there as soon as possible. We have a number of guys that are working through things, and we are not unique.”

McDaniels has stressed that the Raiders can’t feel sorry for themselves, but also that there’s a long month ahead before the start of the regular season. It’s easy to feel antsy about needing to assess every player exhaustively before the final 53-man roster is due Aug. 31, but patience is also important.

Las Vegas has the benefit of not only being the first team in the league to report to camp, but also one of only two, alongside Jacksonville, with four preseason games instead of three. They’ll also hold joint practices with the New England Patriots before their Aug. 26 preseason finale, another chance for snaps against an opponent that McDaniels referenced.

“We know there are some opportunities that are going to present themselves to further evaluate our team,” McDaniels said. “We’ll take good stock of where we are at from the health perspective and then what we need to see relative to the competition on our roster, which is significant, and try to do it that way on Thursday night to start.”

If the most competitive positions are the driving factor for who plays against the Jaguars, expect a near full allotment of healthy players in the trenches on both sides of the ball. With the cluster injury at defensive line, the Raiders have been rotating in free-agent pickups Andrew Billings, Vernon Butler and Kyle Peko frequently among the starters in practice.

Rookie draft picks Neil Farrell Jr. (a fourth rounder out of LSU) and Matthew Butler (a fifth-rounder out of Tennessee) are also likely to get extended looks in the preseason.

The offensive line is similarly unsettled, though left tackle Kolton Miller, left guard John Simpson and right guard Lester Cotton have taken the vast majority of snaps with the first team. Rookie interior lineman Dylan Parham has swapped into both guard spots but perhaps not as frequently as at center, where Andre James returns after starting last year. Brandon Parker, Alex Leatherwood, Jermaine Eluemunor and Thayer Munford have all gotten time at right tackle.

“We’re ready to see as a unit, as a team, how far we’ve come with the new coaching staff and play calls and stuff so it will be exciting,” Cotton said of the Hall of Fame Game. “You’re going to see a lot of people flying around.”

The preseason could go a long way in determining who will serve as Derek Carr’s backup quarterback between Jarrett Stidham and Nick Mullens, with undrafted rookie free agent Chase Garbers a long-shot third choice. Carr hasn’t played in the preseason in years, and though he said he would be open to it this season, Stidham would be the more likely projected starter.

The former Patriot has run with the second team in practice more often than Mullens. Stidham has flashed more big-play potential than Mullens too, but he’s also thrown more interceptions.

“Everybody’s just competing,” quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree said. “It’s a great room and I think they’re doing good, taking advantage of their opportunities. I’m excited for the preseason.”

Coaches being noncommittal about which personnel they’ll utilize in the preseason is hardly new. In fact, it’s now more common than not in the NFL.

Jacksonville coach Doug Pederson told the Florida Times-Union he hasn’t “set any parameters on playing time” for the Hall of Fame Game either. But last year, Raiders then-coach Jon Gruden at least announced he would sit the majority of starters aside from a pair of offensive lineman going into the first game.

With Las Vegas set to travel to Canton today, no such announcement is coming from McDaniels. Fans will have to wait until the game to see who is on the field.

“There’s a lot to be gained for us,” McDaniels said. “Each guy is going to get ready to play, and we’re trying to do it the right way based on what we feel like we need to get done each preseason game.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or

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