After six long months without football, the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars kick off the 2022 NFL preseason in Canton, Ohio with the Hall of Fame game, which takes place this Thursday, August 4th. The Raiders are honoring legends Cliff Branch and Richard Seymour, and the Jaguars have their first-ever Hall of Fame inductee in Tony Boselli.
Both teams had big offseason changes. The Jaguars are now led by former Super Bowl champion head coach Doug Pederson. The Raiders have new head coach Josh McDaniels who was under Bill Belichick as the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator.
As expected, both teams will likely hold out their starters, but this gives the young players a chance to stand out and prove why they deserve a roster spot.
“It’s going to be exciting just to get the team on the field against another opponent obviously,” said Pederson. “And then for the first time for all of us with the coaches and new players and really the whole team. So, we’re looking forward to that.”
Both teams have rookies and empty roster spots that we will be keeping eye on.
Let’s first dive into a few players to watch in the 2022 preseason opener!