New Raiders News and Notes: 8/15/2020

Raiders News and Notes: 8/15/2020

There has been a lot of news involving the Raiders over the past few weeks. Its actually the most action we’ve seen in the past few months. The team has officially settled into their new facility with all the new COVID protocols and mandatory testing. The veterans and rookies had the opportunity to hit the field together to begin building those important relationships.

“We are going to do what the rules allow us to do, our idea right now of ramping them up is teaching them the system, having a lot of walkthroughs,” states Gruden. “Our strength and conditioning coach is really in charge of ramping them up physically in the weight room and with speed and conditioning work. The ramp-up phase will graduate next week and then the following week. Hopefully, we will see some benefits along the away.”

The staff and players are taking the new protocols very seriously to ensure the health and safety of all players and personnel. Two players added to the COVID-19 reserve list are defensive end Maxx Crosby and running back Rod Smith. Running back Devontae Booker was also placed on the COVID-19 reserve list on July 20th but was reinstated a couple of days after. According to The Mercury News, “Symptomatic players aren’t cleared until ten days have passed since the first symptom and 72 hours have passed since the last symptoms occurred.”

“We split our coaching staff into two groups, Gruden said during a press conference that took place at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center. “We have two fields working at the same time. We changed the players and coaches every day, so everybody gets a chance to interact with one another. We got a lot of depth on this staff, a lot of young coaches that are on the rise. So we are preparing for any contingency plans that could come up.”

UPDATE:

Maxx Crosby returner to practice this week and is off the COVID-19 injury list.

Jon Gruden has made some predictions and credits rookie linebacker Javin White, who represents the University of Nevada Las Vegas. White, an undrafted free agent, has been putting in work on the field, working hard to land a spot on the roster.

“It’s a weird time right now because we haven’t utilized our entire facility,” Gruden said. “We haven’t had a team meeting. We haven’t had a group quarterback meeting, or group offensive meeting, or defensive meeting. Everything is on quarantine; a lot of this facility is off-limits. We have done an unbelievable job from a safety standpoint to protect our players, coaches, and employees here.”

Gruden and staff are looking out for the rookies by creating a bubble format that allows the rookie players to bond with one another and remain healthy. The rookies are staying at a hotel in the Las Vegas Valley and have the convenience of riding a shuttle to practice.

There are a few Raiders we won’t be seeing on the field this year. Thursday, August 6th, was the last day players could voluntarily opt-out. Defensive end Jeremiah Valoaga, defensive back D.J Killings, and linebacker Ukeme Eligwe have all opted out for the 2020 season. “According to the NFL, a player can still opt-out after the deadline and during the season if a player is diagnosed with a new high-risk condition or if a player’s family member becomes seriously ill or dies due to coronavirus.”

The Raiders don’t pad up until August 17th, which lands on Gruden’s birthday. The Raiders are scheduled to play the Carolina Panthers on September 13th at the Bank of America Stadium. Unfortunately, there won’t be any fans in Allegiant Stadium this upcoming season, but Davis says that the decision can be reevaluated depending on the measure of the virus and if the Raiders make it to playoffs.

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-Nyshon Zaragoza – Franchise Sports Media

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