TE Darren Waller joins slew of Raiders starters to return to practice

Raiders had a bunch of starters return to practice including all players on PUP list.

It’s quite a day for the Raiders at training camp. The biggest name to return to practice is tight end Darren Waller, who had been out for nearly three weeks. But he was joined by a whole host of projected starters according to media on hand at practice.

For a full month of camp. there have been at least four players on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list — Trayvon Mullen, Bilal Nichols, Johnathan Hankins, and Dillon Stoner.

All four of them took the field today.

Just two days ago, head coach Josh McDaniels said he wasn’t ready to give a timeline on when the likes of Nichols and Hankins would be back, saying they would return when he was confident they could do so without risk of a setback. So…surprise!

Also returning after missing some time was starting cornerback Rock Ya-Sin. Along with Mullen’s return, he gives the Raiders both their projected outside starters.

Lastly, Divine Deablo is back at practice after missing some time. Deablo started five games last season and is competing with newcomer Jayon Brown at outside linebacker, with situations where both could be on the field together.

For Waller’s part, the issue was said to be a hamstring. It has been a long camp and it’s worth noting that Waller spent a good portion of last year’s camp nursing an injury. It’s camp which is the time to be cautious about such things.

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Raiders place WR Bryan Edwards, QB Marcus Mariota on reserve/COVID-19 list ahead of facing Broncos

Raiders lose one of their starting wide receivers the same day they face rival Broncos

For the second week in a row, the Raiders lose a player to the reserve/COVID-19 list on the same day they are to play a game. This time they lost two players.

Last week it was CB Nate Hobbs who landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list the day of the game. As it happens Hobbs returned to the lineup yesterday.

Today the Raiders lost starting WR Bryan Edwards and backup QB Marcus Mariota to the reserve/COVID-19 list.

To replace them on the roster, the team has activated QB Nathan Peterman and WR Dillon Stoner from the practice squad.

Edwards has appeared in all 14 games this season, starting 11 games. He has 30 receptions for 508 yards and three touchdowns. Stoner has played seven offensive snaps this season with no catches.

Mariota has come in for 12 snaps this season, often in short-yardage situations to run a read/option play. He scored a touchdown in the team’s week 12 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Peterman would just be a standard backup without a designated package as Mariota did, so the playbook will lose an element.