Raiders have three new practice squad players

Raiders have three new practice squad players

Jon Gruden has been saying he’s going to shake things up to try and add a spark to the Raiders after their two big losses the past two weeks. Apparently, that goes for the practice squad as well.

The team had three new faces on the scout team today. First up, they had tight end Eric Saubert signed away by the Bears. They replaced him with third-year tight end Cole Wick.

They also added rookie CB Jordan Brown and brought back WR De’Mornay Pierson-El who had spent part of the offseason with the team.

Brown was a 7th round pick by the Bengals. He played on Gruden’s North squad in the Senior Bowl.

In corresponding moves, they released linebacker Quentin Poling and offensive lineman Kyle Kalis from the practice squad.

At this point in the season teams are jockeying to add players they would like to re-sign to reserve/future contracts come January.

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Raiders targeting Week 16 for WR Hunter Renfrow return from rib injury

Raiders targeting Week 16 for WR Hunter Renfrow return from rib injury

The timetable for Hunter Renfrow’s return from his rib injury is becoming more clear. Two weeks ago when he broke his rib, it was unclear if he might need to be placed on injured reserve. He did not, which would suggest the team expected him to be back on the field this season.

As of last week, Gruden would only say he would not play in Kansas City but that he was week-to-week after that. This week Gruden is pushing his return a couple more weeks at least.

“We’re very hopeful that he could return, maybe for the last game or two,” Gruden said of Renfrow. “We’re going to keep him where he is on the active roster. We’re going to try to do without him for another game or two and hopefully get him back maybe for the Chargers game. That’s our wish list, hope list right now for Hunter. We miss him.”

The Raiders face the Chargers in LA week 16. It’s possible that Renfrow’s return could also be dependent upon the Raiders playoff hopes. If they are still in it, Renfrow could help. If not, it seems less likely they would try and rush him back. For now, they will remain optimistic they could have him for a possible playoff run.

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Ohio State’s Justin Fields wins Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year

Ohio State University’s sophomore quarterback Justin Fields has won the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Year.

Ohio State University’s sophomore quarterback Justin Fields has won the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Year.

The former five-star quarterback started his collegiate career in Georgia and quickly transferred to Ohio State.

Under Ryan Day, Fields has found unparalleled success and has grown into one college football’s best dual-threat quarterbacks. Fields is a projected Heisman finalist as well.

Leading the Buckeyes to a perfect 12-0, Fields neared 2,700 yards through the air with 37 pass touchdowns with a mere one interception. On the ground, he added 470 yards and ten more touchdowns.

For his terrific performances, Fields has been named the Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year. Like teammate Chase Young, he didn’t just the positional award but was also named the Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year.

The second-year stud knows this ride isn’t over. He’s prepared to play in the team’s conference championship, a rematch against Wisconsin on Saturday.

From there, the Buckeyes will hopefully take their talent down south and compete in the College Football Playoffs. If they go far in those playoffs, it’ll be on the back of star quarterback Justin Fields.

Bill O’Brien: Game-planning for unknown quarterbacks is ‘hard’ for Texans

On Sunday, the Houston Texans will face another unknown quarterback in Denver Broncos’ Drew Lock. That isn’t easy, according to Bill O’Brien.

Sunday’s matchup with the Denver Broncos will mark the third time in 2019 that the Houston Texans will face a quarterback with less than three NFL starts to their names.

Broncos rookie Drew Lock will join Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Gardner Minshew and Carolina Panthers sophomore Kyle Allen as relatively “unknown” quarterbacks to face the Texans in one of their first starts.

Lock, a second-round pick out of Missouri, will make game-planning tougher for the Texans. He has just one game of NFL experience to his name; he’s an unknown commodity.

“It’s hard. It’s definitely hard. There’s the unknown. I think we’ve actually played against — now with Drew on Sunday — we played against [Jaguars QB] Gardner Minshew early in the season and [Panthers QB] Kyle Allen,” said Texans coach Bill O’Brien on a Tuesday conference call with the Broncos beat.

Last week, the Los Angeles Chargers got a taste of the unknown. Lock beat them in his NFL debut, passing for 134 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on a 64.3% completion rate, good for an 84.5 passer rating.

O’Brien credits the big-game atmosphere of college football and NFL coaching for creating competent starters out of players with little to no professional experience.

“Those guys, they’re good. They’re trained well in college. They’re obviously coached very well in the pros. They’re good. These guys come into the league now and they’ve played in front of big crowds. They’ve played in big games,” said O’Brien. “They have no fear. They’re just going out and playing. They’re having fun. That’s what Drew’s doing in the game against the Chargers. It’s difficult.”

Lock played in the preseason before sustaining a thumb injury against the San Francisco 49ers that put him on the injured reserve up until Week 13. The Texans will study that along with his Missouri and Chargers tape to get a better understanding of his tendencies and skill set.

“You try to go back and study obviously the Chargers game, preseason, college, whatever you can get your hands on and try to do the best you can to have a good game plan,” said O’Brien.

In 2019, the Texans are split while facing quarterbacks with three or less NFL starts, beating the Minshew-led Jaguars and losing to Allen’s Panthers — the win over Minshew in Week does not apply. On Sunday, they will look to go 2-1 against quarterbacks with little playing time, as they host the 4-8 Broncos at NRG Stadium.