Tag: Raiders training camp 2024

DJ Glaze steps up for Raiders as Thayer Munford now nursing injuries to both hands

DJ Glaze stepping up with Thayer Munford now nursing injuries to both hands

The hits just keep coming for Raiders tackle Thayer Munford. He came into this offseason with the right tackle job in hand. And as of today, having anything in hand would prove problematic for the third-year man.

Two weeks ago, on the first day in pads for the Raiders, he had seen almost all the snaps with the first team at right tackle. Then he left practice for a couple of team sessions, and rookie third round pick DJ Glaze stepped in for him.

Munford eventually came back out and resumed his work with the first team at right tackle. But he did so with his left hand wrapped up. He has been practicing with that wrapped up left hand since then, and even started the team’s preseason game last weekend.

But in the team’s evening practice tonight, it was like a deja vu for Munford. Only this time, it was the other hand.

Injuring one hand is not ideal. Injuring both is just plain unfortunate. Especially when you consider Munford had bided his time and finally was being given a real shot at the starting job.

Glaze played well enough when he stepped in for Munford two weeks ago that he earned more first team reps. He seems to be making the most of the increased opportunity to be the starting right tackle should Munford be hampered by his injured hands. And you’d have to think he would be.

It stands to reason we could get an even longer look at Glaze in the Raiders next preseason game on Saturday against the Cowboys.

WATCH: Raiders rookie Dylan Laube does hilariously perfect Maxx Crosby impression

WATCH: Raiders rookie Dylan Laube does hilariously perfect Maxx Crosby impression

The Raiders ended their training camp in Costa Mesa with a trip to the beach for a walk-thru…and some extracurricular stuff as well. Part of the antics were provided by rookie running back Dylan Laube who showed his comedy chops with a spot on and hilarious Maxx Crosby impression.

Laube is clearly a real character, which means he is fitting right in with this Raiders team of characters. Crosby being one of those characters who was in hysterics watching the rookie imitate his on field energy and pass rush technique.

Safe to say the team bonding was accomplished with this beach excursion. You love to see it.

Raiders HC Antonio Pierce still waiting for QB to step up and say ‘I’m the guy’

Raiders still waiting for QB to step up and say ‘I’m the guy’

It’s been a slow process in the competition for the starting quarterback job for the Raiders. That process continues and it doesn’t look like the team is any closer to getting an idea of who will show themselves to be a the guy than they were a couple months ago.

Incumbent starter Aidan O’Connell has continued to take most of the first team reps. Veteran challenger Gardner Minshew has taken some snaps with the first team, but mostly he runs with the second team. But that doesn’t mean that’s where things will stay.

For O’Connell to cement himself as the number one guy, he would have to show a lot more than he has. And for Minshew to surpass him, he has to do more as well.

“I’d like to see…somebody to take it and say ‘I’m the guy, AP,” head coach Antonio Pierce said of the QB competition prior to Tuesday’s practice. “And make it clear, and evident and we’ll make that decision at that point.”

Pierce went on to say that what he is looking for is “somebody has to separate from the other.”

With that as his criteria, it didn’t appear as if either QB did that on the first day in pads. O’Connell had one good deep ball to Jakobi Meyers on a corner route and might have had a good pass on a go route to Davante had he not been interfered with. While Minshew had a few nice mid-range passes over the middle to Brock Bowers, Kristian Fulton, and DJ Turner.

Neither of them were able to get anything going consistently. Outside of those two passes, O’Connell was way off with his throws and Minshew may have gotten things going on one drive late in practice, but it was second team vs second team. And we didn’t see much of that in practice leading up to it.

We are approaching the halfway point of camp in terms of actual practices. There are 11 on-field practices in total in Costa Mesa. Though pads just went on today for the first time and so the final six practices will have ramped up intensity.

A lot is made of the first day in pads, and rightfully so. While the coaches would probably like the QB competition to be settled by now, there is still six more padded camp practices and then a few more weeks of practices back in Vegas to figure it out.

What you hope to see very soon, however, is some semblance of one of the guys putting things together and making a statement with his play that he can be the guy. So long as neither has done that, even for a single practice, it’s a bit concerning.

Raiders training camp Day 5 report: Offense fails to step up first day in pads

It may have been a change of play style for the Raiders camp, but who controlled things remained the same. The defense continued to dominate. I asked Antonio Pierce prior to practice who he expects will benefit the most from pads going on, and he …

It may have been a change of play style for the Raiders camp, but who controlled things remained the same. The defense continued to dominate.

I asked Antonio Pierce prior to practice who he expects will benefit the most from pads going on, and he said the offense without question. And he brought in a special guest last night to try and get them pumped up for it.

“If I had to predict today, I think the offensive line is going to get after it,” said Pierce. “Richie Incognito talked to the team last night. It was pretty intense. Whatever you think he said, he said.”

The offensive line certainly came out with intensity. In the early going, Andrus Peat pancake blocked Tyree Wilson to the turf. And midway through practice Thayer Munford injured his hand on a play, only to get it wrapped up and return to the field a bit later.

As far as how the rest of the offense performed, it was…not great.

The talk the offense had been doing prior to today was that of ‘just wait until pads go on.’ Well pads were on and thus far they have not backed up their words.

No question the Raiders have a very good defense. It shows for sure. But the issues with the offense go well beyond the quality of defense they’re facing.

Mostly it continues to be the quarterback play that plagues the offensive play for the Raiders in camp. The passes are just not getting to the receivers consistently.

I could count on one hand how many solid completions there were on the day. O’Connell had one good connection on a deep corner route to Jakobi Meyers.

Other than that it was a whole lotta bad for the offense.

The defense was flying around, swarming, and jawing all day long.

The closest Davante Adams came to making a play was a pass that looked like it might get there, but he had his jersey tugged on, drawing a pass interference call. And Tre Tucker simply could not get open.

Play after play, Tucker had a defender on his hip. Sometimes it was Jakorian Bennett, sometimes it was Nate Hobbs, and once it was Jack Jones. But it didn’t matter. The result was the same. Incomplete.

It wasn’t until the final drive of the day that the offense got anything going at all. It was Gardner Minshew running the offense. Kristian Fulton had a leaping grab over the middle, then DJ Turner caught one on a cross, and finally Minshew found Alex Bachman on an out to put the team at the 18 for a field goal. It was a relative positive in a day without much before that.

For the defense’s part, they were fired up and stopping everything, including the ground game. Adam Butler had a couple stops and he was sure to let the offense know on each of them, barking at them and running into the backfield to taunt them. Christian Wilkins did some dancing and talking as well.

The one thing you didn’t see much of were turnovers. There were two fumbled handoffs, one between O’Connell and Zamir White and the other between Anthony Brown and Brittain Brown. Jack Jones nearly had a pick on an ugly O’Connell pass after he was basically sacked by Maxx Crosby.

Raiders RT Thayer Munford injures left hand in practice

Raiders RT Thayer Munford injures left hand in practice

The first day in pads for the Raiders began with the usual first team offensive line of LT Kolton Miller, LG Cody Whitehair, C Andre James, RG Dylan Parham, and RT Thayer Munford. But midway through practice, Munford headed for the locker room and rookie DJ Glaze was lining up at right tackle with the first team.

The question then was just what the injury was and how serious. The team went a couple team sessions with Glaze in for Munford and then late in the day, Munford returned with a wrap on his left hand.

“I’ll be fine,” said Munford when asked about the injury. “Just got to get ready for tomorrow and what’s next.”

This is the first time since Munford was drafted that he comes into camp as the favorite for the starting right tackle job and clearly he doesn’t want that to change.If he were an established veteran, the team may have let the young fella get some reps, but Munford is just getting his shot. Letting the rookie get his first team reps risks opening the door for a more heated competition.

Raiders gear up for first day in pads Tuesday

Raiders gear up for first day in pads Tuesday

The day many players have been waiting for is upon us – first day in pads. It’s where all the talk goes out the window and the rubber hits the road.

Up to this point, it’s been hard to get a true feel of how the team will look. I mean, it’s one thing to beat a guy when he can’t block you or can’t hit you. Putting on pads changes all that.

“That’s the game,” offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said. “Now we’re starting to play the game and there’s not this kind of ‘hold up a little bit’ because you’re trying to protect your teammates, you get to go play. The speed of it all happens. It speeds up and everything happens faster and you got to make decisions. And when there’s pressures you got to make adjustments or get the ball out of your hand and at the same time we got to protect it and all that good stuff. Those are the opportunities you’re looking for and we got a great defense to go up against every single day that’s really gonna give us a great evaluation.”

Obviously the primary area Getsy is referring to here involves the quarterback. Not only is that the most important position on the field, but it’s the biggest competition the Raiders have right now.

Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew are battling to be the starter. The two players have very different styles of play. O’Connell is more of a big armed pocket passer while Minshew is more mobile and better at improvising.

Apart from the QB battle happening, pads going on is exciting for everyone on both sides of the ball. First and foremost, it means players can better work on their craft.

“There’s things that I want to work on a lot that I only get to work on when we have full pads on,” said tight end Michael Mayer. “So, now it’s kind of like ‘ok, let’s lay it all out here. What do I need to get better at, now let’s really dig in and get better. We all got full pads on, nobody’s stopping me from doing anything.”

For players like Mayer, who will spend a good portion of his time blocking, having pads brings a crucial element to the game that he simply can’t work on prior to Tuesday.

“When you got shoulder pads on, you get your hands inside, you can grab, you can kind of leverage yourself and things like that. So, I’m really excited to get pads on and see offense vs defense, let’s go. I think they’re going to throw the ball out there and let us play.”

Up to this point the defense has dominated the offense. Which apparently has a lot of the players on offense talking a bit. Which seems kind of ironic considering it’s usually the defense that is the most excited for the hitting to begin. That hasn’t changed.

“It’s exciting,” said CB Jakorian Bennett. “The offense they talk a lot of talk ‘just wait until we put on pads’, but I feel like it’s going to make it better for us. We get to put our hands on them. So, yeah, yeah, it’s going to be fun. Y’all gonna see.”

We look forward to seeing how this plays out. The offense has a lot to prove, which is likely why they’re talking right now. They will be the ones with the bigger chip on their shoulders Tuesday. No doubt it will make for some fun competition. Which will only make everyone better.

Jack Jones showing he is Jack of all trades in Raiders camp

Jack Jones showing he is Jack of all trades in Raiders camp

Jack Jones is enjoying life these days. He’s playing on a team that loves him, for a coach that appreciates him, and in a training camp in his hometown.

No one is more visibly hyped in camp than Jones. He’s dancing during drills, celebrating every win on every play, and frustrated with every catch he allows. And even when you’d think he’d be able to take a breather, he’s asking for more to do.

Jones is a starting cornerback on this team. The only set starting outside corner. And yet when special teams drills start, he’s right there looking to take part.

On punts, he’s fielding and returning them. And on kickoffs — with the neew rules in place — he’s actually trying his hand (or foot, as it were) to see if he can do that as well.

“I’m an athlete,” Jones said of his special teams work. “In my head I can do everything, any position. I just go out there and just do it. And it falls how it falls.”

The fans in attendance eat up Jones’s emotion and enthusiasm.

The Long Beach native and star at high school football powerhouse Long Beach Poly undoubtedly has a lot of Raiders fans who have been fans of his long before he donned Silver & Black.

He can feel the love from those fans. He feeds on it and gives that love back throughout practice. Several times after he returned a punt, he took a detour on his way back to his spot to swing by the stands and hype up the crowd, even slapping hands on his way by.

His head coach Antonio Pierce has also long been a fan. This is Pierce’s third stint as Jones’s coach. He was his head coach at Long Beach Poly and his defensive coordinator at Arizona State.

Pierce and Jones clearly have a special bond. They understand each other. Most importantly, Pierce understands Jones. As a former player turned head coach, Pierce lets his players be themselves because he says it empowers them. The results late last season after Pierce took over and Jones was added to the team, show that approach works. And it has Jones enthusiastically wanting to contribute everywhere he possibly can.

That doesn’t mean he will be doing anything other than his lockdown cornerback duties come the season, but, hey, you never know, right?

Raiders camp Day 3: Red zone drills see early QB flashes before defense shut it down

Raiders camp Day 3: Red zone drills see early QB flashes before defense shut it down

Three days are now in the books for the Raiders. And for the quarterbacks there hasn’t been a whole lot to celebrate.

A rough day two on Thurday seemed to rebound with some nice looking passes to begin Friday’s practice. But it wouldn’t last.

The first team sessions saw Aidan O’Connell throw a couple of nice looking passes to Jakobi Meyers. Though, the first may not have actually gotten off in an actual game, the pass itself was perfectly placed to Meyers in the back of the end zone with Meyers climbing the ladder to get it.

The very next play, O’Connell found Meyers again on a crossing pattern for another score. A bit later, in one-on-ones, O’Connell found Meyers a couple more times, with Meyers getting the better of Jack Jones on both passes.

After leading the team with eight touchdown catches last season, Meyers has become a serious red zone threat for the Raiders.

“That’s probably the most important,” Meyers said of the red zone. “That’s the toughest part of the field. Less space, less time. If we can capitalize in the red zone, we’ll be a much better team.”

He also found Brock Bowers, who leapt over a defender to make the catch over the middle.

Then Gardner Minshew came in and twice found Harrison Bryant for touchdowns.

It was a welcome sight to see the offense have some success against this offense. I say was, because that’s where it ended. From there on out, it was back to being all defense.

Jack Jones would knock down consecutive passes for Jakobi Meyers and Davante Adams. The one to Adams looked like it might be a touchdown, but Jones punched it out. Then a few plays later, Maxx Crosby got pressure on the right side, causing O’Connell to throw up a duck that Jones got under for the interception.

Isaiah Pola Mao got into the act too, streaking over to the left sideline to pick off O’Connell. And Jones batted down another pass from O’Connell to Adams.

“That’s one thing that PG [Patrick Graham] has been stressing to us that we got to improve our red zone defense this year,” said safety Marcus Epps. “He’s been putting a lot of attention and energy into it and we’ve been doing the same. We understand that’s an area we need to improve, so it’s something we’ve made a point of emphasis.”

Practice ended on consecutive plays from inside the five that saw the defensive line snuff out the offense, one a run stop and the other Christian Wilkins knifing into the backfield to make the sack.

I suppose at least even if it fell apart, that there was some early success. Maybe something to build upon in the hopes that at some point we can say the offense got the better of the defense overall. That has yet to happen and it only figures to get more difficult once pads go on.

Raiders depth chart to start training camp: Who is getting first team reps for missing starters

Three starters missing from camp on Day three opens door for next men up.

It was Day three of Raiders camp in Costa Mesa. And through the first three days, we are getting a feel for the current depth chart.

As of Friday, there were three expected starters missing. Those players are left tackle Kolton Miller, left guard Jackson Powers-Johnson, and defensive tackle John Jenkins.

Stepping in for Miller at left tackle with the first has been veteran Andrus Peat. Next to him at guard has been veteran Cody Whitehair. And today, across the line at nose tackle it was second year man Byron Young getting reps alongside DT Christian Wilkins.

With this players plugged in, here is where the bulk of the first team reps have gone on both offense and defense over the first three days of camp.

Offense

QB Aidan O’Connell
RB Zamir White
WR Davante Adams
WR Jakobi Meyers
SWR Tre Tucker
TE Michael Mayer
TE2 Brock Bowers
LT Andrus Peat
LG Cody Whitehair
C Andre James
RG Dylan Parham
RT Thayer Munford

Defense

DT Christian Wilkins
DT Byron Young
ED Maxx Crosby
ED Malcolm Koonce
LB Robert Spillane
LB Divine Deablo
CB Jack Jones
CB Jakorian Bennett
SCB Nate Hobbs
SS Marcus Epps
FS Tre’von Moehrig

Raiders already seeing benefits to holding training camp away from Vegas

Raiders already seeing benefits to holding training camp away from Vegas

COSTA MESA CA — It was day one of Raiders training camp. They took the field just before 10am on a beautiful sunny day. The ocean breeze was gently blowing and it was and temps were in the 70s. A very different feeling than Raiders camps in recent years. And the Raiders figure to be all the better for it.

This time a year ago, the Raiders hit the field for camp in triple digit temps that only got hotter as camp went on. They were sweating all their weight off faster than they could hydrate while the linemen had to take periodic trips to a refrigerated trailer to bring their body temperature down.

It was miserable. And it made their preparation all the more difficult. After all, their focus shouldn’t be on staying alive in blistering heat, but rather what their doing to improve their performance and acclimate to the new playbook.

“At the end of the day we’re going to make it work make it do what it do regardless, but it definitely helps keep your mind a little bit straighter when you’re in reasonable weather,” said Davante Adams. “Playing around in that 113, 115 that’s been going on out there in Vegas…it’s been a hot one. Definitely wouldn’t be our first one dealing with it, but this allows us to kind of chill and focus in on getting right the first couple days and keeping a little bit more weight on versus coming out here shedding a little bit too much and getting dehydrated and all those types of things.”

These first few days are all about taking what they studied in the new offense and putting it on its feet. Even if it isn’t in full pads at full speed, it’s important to not have to even consider the weather in that equation. And the team looked very prepared for how practice was to go. No breaks for refrigerated trailer trips and fewer water breaks as well. Which meant more work.

As helpful as it is now, it will that even more helpful next week when they put on pads and the intensity gets ratcheted up.