Raiders add three defensive starters to injured list on eve of training camp

By Case Keefer (contact)

Tuesday, July 19, 2022 | 3:31 p.m.

The Raiders’ defense took a hit less than 24 hours before the full roster reports to training camp.

Three presumed starters were added to the physically unable perform list in cornerback Trayvon Mullen, defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins and defensive tackle Bilal Nichols. None of them will be permitted to practice until the Raiders activate them from the “PUP list.”

The designation may not be as serious or punitive as it sounds, however, as it doesn’t guarantee any of the players will miss time in the regular season. As long as the players are taken off the list by August 23, they’re eligible to play a full season.

Even if they remain listed past August 23, they’re now only required to miss four games. The NFL recently lowered the minimum number of games missed on the PUP list from its traditional guideline of six games.

Mullen is the least surprising of the three to be added considering the fourth-year Raider missed much of last season, including the final month of games, with nagging foot and toe injuries that required surgery.

Hankins, who’s entering his fifth year was the franchise, was also hobbled with a back injury at the end of last season though he did fight through it to miss only two games.

Nichols is a newcomer, signed as a free agent this offseason after spending his first four seasons wit the Chicago Bears, and there’s less information available about his injury. The Raiders brought in several new defensive tackles, but Nichols was the headliner.

Without Nichols and Hankins, veteran free-agents like Vernon Butler, Kyle Peko and Andrew Billings could push for larger roles up front. Most of the attention, however, will be focused on rookie draft picks Neil Farrell Jr. and Matthew Butler.

Farrell, a fourth-round pick out of LSU, and Butler, a fifth-round pick out of Tennessee, were already in a position to compete for playing time immediately and now they could be even more likely to contribute.

At outside cornerback, free-agent signee Anthony Averett (coming over from the Baltimore Ravens) and trade pickup Rock Ya-Sin (sent over from the Indianapolis Colts) would be the presumed starters without Mullen.

Other than the three PUP-list players, the rest of the roster is expected to officially practice for the first time Wednesday morning in Henderson.

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