Training camp has wrapped up for the Raiders. The Raiders will now have roughly a week to make their decisions on who they cut loose to get down to 53 players.

With 80 players currently on the roster, they will need to cut some 27 players on or before the September 5 deadline. Then a day later, they will begin piecing together their practice squad.

Here is my prediction of what that roster and practice squad will look like:

Quarterbacks (2)

IN: Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota

OUT: Nathan Peterman

Running backs (5)

IN: Josh Jacobs, Alec Ingold, Lynn Bowden Jr, Jalen Richard, Rod Smith

OUT: Theo Riddick, Devontae Booker

Wide receivers (6)

IN: Henry Ruggs III, Tyrell Williams, Hunter Renfrow, Bryan Edwards, Nelson Agholor, Zay Jones

OUT: Rico Gafford, D’Mornay Pierson-El, Keelan Doss, Marcell Ateman

Tight ends (3)

IN: Darren Waller, Jason Witten, Foster Moreau

OUT: Nick Bowers, Derek Carrier, Nick O’Leary (IR)

Offensive line (9)

IN: T Kolton Miller, G Richie Incognito, C Rodney Hudson, G Gabe Jackson, T Trent Brown, G Denzelle Good, C Andre James, G John Simpson, T Sam Young

OUT: Lester Cotton Sr, Kamaal Seymour, David Sharpe, Eric Kush, Erik Magnuson, Jordan Devey, Brandon Parker

Defensive interior (4)

IN: Maliek Collins, Johnathan Hankins, Maurice Hurst, Daniel Ross

OUT: Mike Panasiuk, Datone Jones

Edge rushers (4)

IN: Maxx Crosby, Clelin Ferrell, Carl Nassib, Arden Key

OUT: Sharif Finch, Chris Smith, Kendal Vickers, Nick Usher (IR)

Linebackers (6)

IN: Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkoski, Nicholas Morrow, Kyle Wilber, Tanner Muse, Javin White

OUT: Justin Phillips Kyle Emanuel

Cornerbacks (7)

IN: Trayvon Mullen, Damon Arnette, Lamarcus Joyner, Amik Robertson, Keisean Nixon, Isaiah Johnson, Prince Amukamara

OUT: Dylan Mabin, Madre Harper, Nevin Lawson, Nick Nelson (IR)

Safeties (4)

IN: Johnathan Abram, Damarious Randall, Erik Harris, Jeff Heath

OUT: Dallin Leavitt

Specialists (3)

IN: K Daniel Carlson, P AJ Cole, LS Trent Sieg

OUT: None

Practice squad (12)

RB William Stanback
WR Rico Gafford
WR Keelan Doss
WR Marcell Ateman
TE Nick Bowers
G Lester Cotton Sr.
T David Sharpe
DT Mike Panasiuk
DE Sharif Finch
LB Justin Phillips
CB Dylan Mabin
S Dallin Leavitt

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Without a doubt, the biggest storyline coming out of practice for the Raiders over the last two weeks has been rookie receiver Bryan Edwards. After falling to the middle of the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Edwards has already made a massive impression on his coaches and his teammates.

After the recent shoulder injury to starter Tyrell Williams, Edwards was expected to take his place in the starting lineup at practice. But with beat reporters not (technically) allowed to reveal who is starting and who isn’t, that information couldn’t be confirmed. Until now.

On the State of the Nation podcast, Tashan Reed of The Athletic revealed that Edwards worked with the starters during Wednesday’s practice and that head coach Jon Gruden isn’t afraid to start him in Week 1 if needed. Here is a recap of Reed’s thoughts on Edwards from the latest episode of the podcast:

“Today running with the one’s, Bryan Edwards was there. I don’t know if I can technically say that or not, but they had him out there. So I don’t think there’s any hesitancy to start him, I just think Gruden may not want people to know that yet or how good that they think he is. But I don’t think they’re going to not put him out there just for the sake of saying ‘ah, we don’t want to have a starting rookie wide receiver duo.”

As it stands right now, the Raiders could open Week 1 of the regular season with two rookie starters at wide receiver in Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards. If that is the case, you can still fully expect a ton of Hunter Renfrow in the slot and players like Nelson Agholor and Zay Jones to rotate in heavily.

However, the big takeaway here is that the Raiders love Edwards and believe he’s ready to play a role in the offense. Even if he doesn’t open the season as the starter against the Carolina Panthers, look for Edwards to have a big role in the offense this season.

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One of the biggest ways the Raiders can improve this year is by creating a more consistent pass rush. The team had just 32 sacks last season, ten of which came from rookie Maxx Crosby.

So far in training camp, their young defensive ends have impressed. Crosby continues to look like a future star and the offseason looks like it’s done Clelin Ferrell a lot of good. Even third-year defensive end Arden Key is drawing praise from the front office and he seems to be fitting in with new defensive line coach Rod Marinelli.

However, the one player on the defensive line that has yet to impress is veteran Carl Nassib, who the team signed this offseason. Nassib has been a productive defensive end over the last two seasons, totaling 12.5 sacks in only 17 starts.

But in a recent piece by Vic Tafur of The Athletic, he mentions that Nassib has failed to stand out and has been running with the second-team:

“So, if Key is coming on and Ferrell has looked good … somebody has to be slipping. And that would be Nassib, the eighth-highest paid player on the team (Mariota is seventh) after the Raiders gave him $16.75 million guaranteed over the next two years.

Nassib can be seen once in a while on the second team in practice, and the Raiders brass has its guard up — as the former Buccaneer has not been made available to the media at training camp.”

The Raiders brought in Nassib to be insurance in case players like Ferrell and Key didn’t prove they were up to the challenge of playing big snaps. But with both defensive ends having strong camps, it’s made Nassib an overpaid backup.

Considering his price tag, the Raiders will need to get more out of Nassib throughout camp and into the regular season. But as of now, it doesn’t appear that the team has any problem playing the younger players over the veteran. This will be a situation worth monitoring over the next few weeks.

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We’ve hit the two-week mark since the Raiders took the next step and began training camp practices. The team reported two weeks prior, but the first two weeks were more akin to what you’d expect in offseason workouts and OTA’s.

For the first time in those two weeks, starting right tackle Trent Brown and utility guard Denzelle Good were suited up and on the field with their teammates. And with their return, the Raiders had full attendance along the offensive line.

Trent Brown’s arrival onto the field, in particular, meant we didn’t have to wonder how some of the Raiders pass rushers would fair against the best as Brown is considered arguably the best right tackle in football.

The big 6-8 pass protector wasn’t eased in either. He was right in there with the first team and in pass blocking drills, he didn’t let anyone by him including the likes of Maxx Crosby and Arden Key.

For his part, Denzelle Good also held up well, first on a couple of reps against Datone Jones and another fine bit of blocking against Clelin Ferrell, who has done well overall against interior linemen this camp.

Attendance

Not at practice today was Marcus Mariota, so it was just Derek Carr and Nathan Peterman throwing passes.

They would be without Tyrell Williams (torn labrum) and Nelson Agholor on this day. Williams is not expected back for a couple of weeks. Agholor’s status is unknown.

First team cornerback Trayvon Mullen was not out there. Mike Mayock said initially he was worried about Mullen’s injury — though he didn’t say what it is — but it turned out not to be that bad and he should return sooner than later.

Mo Money, Mo Problems

The best-looking rushes of the day in lineman drills belong to Maurice Hurst, who got through to the backfield three different times. He got pressure through Jordan Devey twice and then beat Lester Cotton Sr. as well.

The third-year defensive tackle saw the team sign free agent Maliek Collins this offseason to be the team’s primary three-tech DT. Collins had 48 pressures last season, giving him a lot of clout. He also worked with Raiders’ new defensive line coach Rod Marinelli.

Hurst has to show up big time and will need to earn every one of his snaps this season. Today was a good day for him.

Play of the day

The play of the day was great from two aspects. It was rookie on rookie with Amik Robertson guarding Bryan Edwards. Robertson was in tight coverage on Edwards and swiped down to bat the ball. Great play by Robertson for sure. However, Edwards didn’t give up on it. The ball hung in the air a little bit and Edwards showed great concentration and laid out to make the catch anyway. Gotta give some credit to both guys on that one.

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Most of the time, we think of a player’s improvement as a product of either technique or physical abilities. The one area that tends to get overlooked is a player’s mindset or emotional state.

Take Arden Key for example. The talent has always been there. From Day 1 of his rookie camp, his abilities were evident. He has all the bend, hand fighting and physical prowess you could want from a dominant defensive end.

He was drafted by the Raiders in the third round in 2018. At that time Mike Mayock was still a draft analyst for NFL Network and he remembers well the kind of player he scouted in Key.

“I go back to Arden at LSU when I was with NFL Network I was at his pro day,” said Mayock. “I knew all about the kid coming out of LSU, the talent and some of the trials and tribulations he went through, some of the weight gains and losses. At the end of the day he’s a talented young man.”

Despite all of his abilities, somehow when the season came around, it didn’t translate to the field of play. He would get pressures, but they weren’t resulting in sacks. And it frustrated Key. And his coaches.

He went into year two determined to seal the deal on those pressures and get to the quarterback. Then right when he seemed to be putting things together, he was lost for the season.

His rough rookie season and injury-shortened second season led to a good deal of criticism from the media. And the seemingly always confident Key let it get to him in ways that he probably shouldn’t have. He needed to take a step back and get his mind right.

“I was self-reflecting, trying to get mentally right especially after coming off the season-ending injury last year and had a pretty good solid two games before I hurt myself,” said Key Thursday from training camp.

“I’m in a good place mentally. I don’t take a lot of stuff too hard, I don’t take a lot of stuff personal. A lot of stuff in life isn’t personal. You gotta learn to roll with it and keep moving. Get your emotions pretty much out of a lot of these type things. Get the ego out. I learned to shut the ego up.”

In addition to his mental and emotional reboot, Key was once again in need to getting back where the team wants him physically. He said he feels a lot stronger and his weight is where it needs to be now. Whether it’s his mental or physical state, he looks as fast and furious on the edge as he did as a rookie when he was dominating Raiders tackles. The question is if this time will have a better result. His GM seems to think so.

“I think this offseason was different for him,” Mayock said of Key. “And even though we weren’t in the building, I sensed a different Arden Key. I think his commitment to the organization and even more importantly his commitment to get the talent that he has out of himself, I think those were both evident. And I think they’re showing up right now. I think Arden, like the rest of the defensive line, has bought into Rod Marinelli. I really like where Arden Key is right now and he’s doing it all with a club on his hand.”

As of Thursday’s practice that “club” (which was a cast) on Key’s right hand was gone. He shed the old cast much like he hopes to break the mold he was in the past couple of rough seasons for him. His arrival would be quite a bonus for this Raiders defensive line which is looking to take a big step forward this season.

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Wednesday was day ten of Raiders training camp. Early in practice, Zay Jones lined up on the left side. The ball was going to him on this play. Even with a defender in his hip pocket, Carr threw the ball and Jones turned and aggressively closed on it, ensuring the defender had no shot at it.

Plays like that are a product of chemistry. This camp we’ve seen a lot of them from Jones and Carr. Something we saw very little of last season after the team acquired Jones from the Bills in exchange for a 2021 fifth-round pick.

Chemistry is a big part of the new look Zay Jones. But it’s not the only thing.

The former second-round pick was billed (so to speak) as a speedy, quick receiver. But last season, he looked downright sluggish. In that regard, he looks like a completely different guy in this training camp.

“We can see a huge difference from Zay from last year to this year,” said General Manager Mike Mayock over zoom conference call Tuesday. “I’m proud of the way he came into camp.”

For the chemistry part, Jones attributes it to the extra time he spent in player practices over the offseason. He was regularly part of those practices along with Derek Carr at a park in Las Vegas.

For the quickness part, that was part physical and part mental.

“I think just more time with [Derek Carr]. Just getting that timing down and everything,” Jones said Thursday from training camp. “But more importantly I cut a little bit of weight. I wanted to be more fluid and faster, quickness was a main focal point for me this offseason.

“Just the route running. Coming into the middle of the season and you’re trying to learn someone’s playbook, there’s small details that you may miss. It’s just natural. There’s a lot of language, a lot of verbiage that goes into it. So, being my second year with the playbook, just understanding what’s all going to go into it; now I can be versatile, now I can go inside and I can move outside, I can go X, I can go Z and really understand the language and getting these details down, so now when I’m going into the summer, I can practice these routes at full speed without hesitation because I know what I’m doing. Now I can put my own flavor on things, now I can add a little bit to the route. DC sees the way I run a route and he understands I’m to have this breakpoint or these are my mechanics, this is my speed, this is what I’m doing.

“I think just with timing that needs to be developed, I feel more confident. I think this is one of the most confident times that I’ve had in the NFL.”

After what I saw last season, along with the team spending two draft picks on the receiver position and the addition of Nelson Agholor in free agency, Jones looked like he was behind the eight ball to make this team. But to his credit, he has turned things around considerably and is making a strong case not only to make the roster but perhaps even see a decent amount of playing time.

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If the Raiders want to take the next step as a franchise and make the playoffs, their defense is going to need to improve. Dramatically. In the two years Gruden has been with the Raiders, his defenses have finished 32nd and 24th in points per game allowed.

Entering Year 3 of this rebuild, the Raiders need more from their defense. That means defensive coordinator Paul Guenther is firmly in the spotlight this season.

In a recent article by ESPN, their beat writers were responsible for naming a player or coach that is on the “hot seat” entering the 2020 season. Not surprisingly, Guenther was named by Paul Gutierrez. Take a look at his thoughts on the team’s defensive coordinator and why this year is such an important season for him:

“In Guenther’s two seasons as Jon Gruden’s defensive playcaller, the Raiders have the fewest sacks in the NFL (45), are tied for the fewest takeaways (32), have given up the most 90-plus-yard touchdown drives (11), allowed the most points per drive (2.46) and are tied for the second-most yards per play allowed (6.08). On paper, the roster has been upgraded significantly on defense and, oh yeah, Rod Marinelli has joined the staff as the defensive line coach, though many see him as the DC-in-waiting should the defense struggle.”

Gutierrez makes a great point about Marinelli being on the roster. While he is only the defensive line coach right now, he’s one of the league’s most proven defensive coordinators. If Guenther’s defense doesn’t improve dramatically this season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Gruden “promote” Marinelli to that job.

Given all of the talent the Raiders added to their defense this season, the expectation is that the group should be much closer to a league-average unit. If the Raiders don’t see a significant jump in production on that side of the ball, it does feel likely that in a year from now, there could be a new defensive coordinator in Las Vegas. Needless to say, 2020 is a big year for Guenther.

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As the Raiders inch closer to their Week 1 matchup against the Carolina Panthers, the team is getting healthier. On Wednesday, they got some good news as offensive linemen Trent Brown and Denzelle Good were both back at practice, according to RaidersWire’s Levi Damien.

The team’s official Twitter account tweeted a picture of Brown returning to practice as he is in pads for the first time this year.

Locked in 🔒 pic.twitter.com/Ish9IgLnm6

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) August 26, 2020

Getting Brown back on the field for the Raiders is a big deal as he was named to his first Pro Bowl of his career last season. However, injuries continue to be a problem for the mammoth offensive tackle as he appeared in only 11 games last season.

When he is healthy, Brown is arguably the best right tackle in the NFL. But he’s missed 11 games over the last three seasons and that has to be somewhat concerning for the Raiders. However, it’s encouraging to see him back on the field and everything appears to be on track for him to be ready by Week 1.

As for Denzelle Good, he’s looking to cement his status as one of the team’s top backup offensive linemen. He started five games for the Raiders last season at right guard, filling in for Gabe Jackson. He is currently in a competition with rookie John Simpson for one of the backup interior offensive line spots.

With just under three weeks until the start of the season, the Raiders have their full offensive line available at practice.

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