Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
One week later and 9 Raiders free agents still unemployed
A great many departing Raiders found new homes over the past week. Some were re-signed to the team as well. You can all the team’s additions, retentions, and subtractions right here in our free agency tracker.
But not all of those who were a member of the Raiders a week ago have found a landing spot yet. Specifically these nine.
What Condition Raiders Position is in: Running back
With free agency under a month away, it’s time to check in on the Raiders’ running back position to give it a condition of either Strong, Stable, Unstable, Serious, or Critical.
Jacobs was having a down season even before he was lost to injury. White stepped in and started the final four games, averaging just under 100 yards per game.
Jacobs is headed for free agency again and this time they won’t be using the franchise tag on him which would pay him over $14 million next season. White has a couple great games late in the season, but had shown no indication he could be a full time starter prior to that, so another decent option would be smart.
Johnson was the team’s primary fullback and they could probably bring him easily if they wished to do so.
LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Parham both miss practice
Wednesday the Raiders and Dolphins began preparing for their matchup in Miami on Sunday. The Raiders did so without the left side of their offensive line.
Left tackle Kolton Miller was still missing with a shoulder injury. He was joined by left guard Dylan Parham who is nursing a calf injury.
Also missing was cornerback Amik Robertson who suffered a concussion in Sunday night’s game against the Jets.
Kolton Miller and Dylan Parham both missed practice today for #Raiders. FB Jakob Johnson returned to practice. pic.twitter.com/xaeHfjLKhm
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) November 15, 2023
The Raiders did get fullback Jakob Johnson back from his concussion, so he figures to be ready to go this week.
The Dolphins were missing six players. We will see how many of them are still not practicing on Thursday to know who just a little banged up and who is actually in danger of missing the game Sunday.
Raiders vs Jets final injury report: LT Kolton Miller Doubtful, CB Marcus Peters Questionable
It looks like the Raiders will be without their starting left tackle Sunday when the Jets come to town. After missing the entire week of practices with a shoulder injury, Kolton Miller has been officially listed as Doubtful for the game.
LT Kolton Miller is Doubtful. CB Marcus Peters is Questionable for #Raiders vs #Jets pic.twitter.com/X96ZxtmeXY
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) November 10, 2023
The Raiders have a couple options to replace Miller at left tackle. They could move right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor over there which would mean Thayer Munford would start at right tackle. Or they could leave Eluemunor at right tackle and start Justin Herron at left tackle.
“Part of our process here the last couple of days is just ‘next man up’ mentality,” said interim head coach Antonio Pierce. “So, if it isn’t Kolton Miller, it’ll be the next gentleman up. Obviously, everybody’s been practicing the right way, so if that comes to fruition and we have to move on from Kolton to somebody else, we’re not going to blink, and they’re not going to blink. And we expect him to do the exact same job Kolton Miller does. And when Kolton Miller goes in here, and he’s in there, he’s going be Kolton Miller. So, we’re fine. No panic. Nobody’s over here worried about what’s going to happen with Kolton if he’s in or not.”
Technically speaking, the ‘next man up’ would be Justin Herron as he is listed as the backup left tackle on the team’s website.
Other Raiders whose status is uncertain include CB Marcus Peters and FB Jakob Johnson. Both are Questionable for the game.
The Jets will be without a couple tackles as well with Billy Turner and Duane Brown both officially OUT.
T Kolton Miller, CB Marcus Peters both miss practice Wednesday
Wednesday the Raiders took the practice field preparing for their attempt at an encore against the other New York City team. And they did so with a few important players.
Most notably, they were without left tackle Kolton Miller with a shoulder injury. They were also without CB Marcus Peters with a knee injury.
Still not practicing were LB Divine Deablo (ankle) and FB Jakob Johnson (concussion).
T Kolton Miller (shoulder) and CB Marcus Peters (knee) both missed pracfice today for #Raiders pic.twitter.com/U1OehHOn1G
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) November 8, 2023
The Jets were without LB Chaz Surratt and T Billy Turner.
LB Divine Deablo and LB Luke Masterson OUT. LB Robert Spillane Questionable. Yikes.
The final injury report is out and so too are several Raiders players. Among them is linebacker Divine Deablo (ankle), LB Luke Masterson (concussion), fullback Jakob Johnson (concussion), and tackle Thayer Munford (neck).
As if it the linebacker corps wasn’t already thin, Robert Spillane is officially Questionable with an injured hand.
#Raiders LB Divine Deablo is OUT vs #Giants. LB Robert Spillane is Questionable. pic.twitter.com/msQwDqEgQE
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) November 3, 2023
Last Sunday the Raiders found themselves down to Amari Burney and Curtis Bolton at linebacker. They signed Jaylon Smith this week off the Saints practice squad. It may be too much to ask him to be ready in a matter of days, so they will certainly be hoping at very least Spillane can go.
The Giants will be without former Raiders TE Darren Waller who suffered a hamstring injury last week, making his return to Las Vegas not as he had hoped.
Also OUT for the Giants is QB Tyrod Taylor and K Graham Gano.
Questionable are OL Evan Neal (ankle), OL Andrew Thomas (hamstring), and RB Jashaun Corbin (hamstring).
Raiders vs Giants Thursday injury report: Raiders banged up at linebacker
Today the Raiders made a move to try and fortify their linebacker corps. They signed Jaylon Smith off the Saints practice squad. The hope being that he can get up to speed quickly being that he played in Patrick Graham’s defense back in 2021 for four games.
It’s a stretch, but they have little choice in the matter. Currently they are facing being without Divine Deablo (ankle) and his replacement Luke Masterson (concussion).
In addition, Robert Spillane has an injured hand that kept him out of practice Wednesday and had him limited Thursday.
#Raiders missing LB Divine Deablo and LB Luke Masterson while Robert Spillane was limited with a hand injury. How Quickly can Jayson Smith get up to speed? pic.twitter.com/8rUUOnGlJg
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) November 2, 2023
Raiders Week 4 Ballers & Busters
It was a third straight loss for the Raiders in a game that most of the way didn’t even look close. Though the Raiders were able to make it interesting late, pulling one play away from a potential tie — they could not get over the hump and watched another one slip by them.
Crosby didn’t get the headlines because of Khalil Mack’s insane six-sack day, but the man who would eventually replace Mack with the Raiders had a good day as well. Crosby put up two sacks of his own and even led the Raiders in tackles.
Easily his best game of the season. Jacobs led the team with eight catches for 81 yards for a total of 139 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.
He and Aidan O’Connell got off to a slow start in this one, but as the game went on, they got more acquainted. In the end, Adams nearly dragged the Raiders kicking and screaming back from the depth. Five of his eight catches came on the Raiders’ final two drives, including a 19-yard catch on fourth and ten that put them in first and goal at the three. O’Connell threw an interception on the next play.
Speaking of interceptions, the Raiders got their first of the season in this game. Moehrig had two chances at picking off a Justin Herbert pass. The first one was in the end zone and he got both hands on it, but was bumped in the air by the receiver and was unable to come up with it. But the next time he got a shot at it, he made the catch.
Unfortunately, a penalty on the return would make it the equivalent of a fair catch on a punt, but that wasn’t his fault. Had his return stood, he would’ve put the Raiders in great field position.
It was good to see a couple of the Raiders’ interior linemen do some good work. Jenkins tied for second on the team in tackles, many of which were for a loss or little to no gain. He also batted a pass down at the line. Nichols held up at the line to make the stop on two separate QB sneak attempts. His tackle on Justin Herbert on a scramble just short of the sticks set up a fourth and one stop and gave the Raiders’ offense one more chance to tie it.
Cole averaged 53.8 yards per punt on five punts. This included a 61-yard punt and a 70-yard punt that was downed at the five-yard-line.
Johnson was laying blocks much like we saw a lot of last season, opening some sizable holes for Josh Jacobs to run through. This included a block downfield on a Jacobs catch, allowing him to go for 21 yards on third and 18. That set up a field goal to pull to within two scores.
It was a moment CJ Okoye will never forget.
Chargers defensive lineman CJ Okoye recorded a sack in last Saturday’s win over the Rams in the preseason opener. While this would be a tally in the stat sheet for any other player, this was a special moment for Okoye.
It marked Okoye’s first-ever organized football game. Not just an NFL game but the first organized football game. Okoye is a Nigerian athlete signed by the team as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program.
“It was an amazing moment for me,” Okoye said Tuesday.
Okoye sacked Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett on the Chargers’ final defensive play. Afterward, his teammates went wild on the sideline.
First football game of his entire life. He gets a sack. You can’t make this stuff up. @chargers Sideline going crazy. Only in the @NFL @Cj_dlion12 @NFLAfrica #IPP pic.twitter.com/0vInPW1pIT
— OSI (@OsiUmenyiora) August 13, 2023
CJ Okoye had never played in an organized football game until last night.
The Nigerian native attended the @NFLAfrica Camp last year & was signed by the @chargers through the International Player Pathway program.
He got his first sack in his first game EVER. 💙 @Cj_dlion12 pic.twitter.com/SJO5oo8y1U
— NFL (@NFL) August 13, 2023
“Watching it is like putting all this together in one, it was a moment for me,” Okoye said. “It was [an] amazing moment seeing my teammates, see my D-line room go crazy like that. I wish to go back there again.”
Notable players from the International Pathway Program include Raiders’ Jakob Johnson, Commanders’ Efe Obada and Eagles’ Jordan Mailata.
Even though he made a highlight play in preseason action, Okoye knows that nothing is guaranteed, and he will have to keep his head down and keep working hard.
“I don’t think I’m a celebrity yet, it’s just my story,” Okoye said. “I have never played football, just magically got a sack. I won’t lie, it’s an awesome feeling but you don’t go too high, you don’t go too low just stay in the middle and do your thing.
“For me, it’s just learning the most I can do, go out there and learn because we have the best D-line in the entire league. I want to learn more plays and learn more techniques.”
Regardless if Okoye makes even the practice squad or not, this was a moment that he will never forget.
Today is “the most important day of the year” for Jakob Johnson
It’s been a little over a week now since the Raiders began training camp. And finally the pads are going on.
There are always a few players who look forward to pads more than most. One of those is full-back Jakob Johnson who makes his living hitting people.
“It’s the main part that I wait on every offseason,” Johnson said following Monday’s practice, adding that he’s “looking forward to it.”
“I mean, it’s the most important day of the year, right? The first day of pads, real football starts. All the stuff that we X-ed and O-ed out all year, we’re finally putting the metal to the floor and getting in there. So, yeah, for me, that’s the most exciting part about training camp. And once we cross that we can get back to the third down passes and all that stuff. But the first day of pads is important.”
Things got a bit “chippy” on Monday as Johnson put it. With players talking trash with those on the other side of the ball and getting in each others’ faces. Those chippy moments often boil over into more once pads go on.
And no one talks more than Maxx Crosby.
“I mean, I think we all know our front man trash talker here on the team, right? The Condor,” Johnson said of Crosby. “I mean, he’s going to always do his thing. So, we’ll see how that goes.”
Let the hitting and trash-talking commence. Though hopefully the scraps are kept to a minimum. Maybe save them for next week when the 49ers arrive for joint practices.
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