Raiders Training Camp 2017: Gareon Conley is not indicted and other updates. The Raiders Training Camp started some days ago and it has not lacked any substance as there have been interesting things to report besides “it is time to put the pads on.”
Earlier today, it was reported that Gadeon Conley’s rape case will be forwarded to a grand jury. However, Ed Gallek, of FOX 8 I Team has just Tweeted that a grand jury has decided not to indict Conley and with that resolution, the former Buckeye can finally focus on training camp.
FOX 8 I TEAM has learned from multiple sources a grand jury has decided not to indict former Ohio State football star Gareon Conley
— Ed Gallek (@edgallekfox8) July 31, 2017
Similarly, ProFootball Talk has confirmed Gallek’s tweet.
PFT confirms report from @edgallekfox8: A grand jury decided not to indict Raiders CB Gareon Conley on rape charges.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 31, 2017
Regarding Conley, general manager Reggie McKenzie had said that he feels confident about “the miles and miles” of research the team made. At the end, his confidence paid off and the Raiders front office and coaching staff can work on getting the most out of Conley. In other not legal news, Conley was spotted wearing No. 22; he must be feeling excited as the day has turned out to be good for him.
On a different note, Bruce Irvin, Mario Edwards, Jon Feliciano, Ben Heeney, Pharaon Brown and Copper Helfet were not part of today’s practice, a meaningful one since it is the first day the Raiders wore pads in practice. Some of them might be out of precaution and nothing else; it is worth monitoring, but nothing else.
Similarly, Donald Penn is maximizing his leverage and is not showing to camp in order to get a new contract. He let the media and team know that he wants a raise and has not given an inch in since then. Another situation to keep an eye as there is depth behind him, but nothing beats sound offensive line protection.
Finally, it is important to point out that the Raiders announced that running back Taiwan Jones and tackle Austin Howard were released by the team in a cost-saving move last Friday. Even though they were both fighting for a roster spot and were the most likely veterans to be released, it wasn’t taken for granted until the team made it official.
Putting aside the fact that nobody likes to be cut (fired in our case), it is a good thing they were released in the early stage of Training Camp and have now an opportunity to latch onto another team. In spite of them not being starting-caliber players, they both can become key backups for a team that may be currently lacking it.
Although some of those situations need to be monitored, injuries and non-injury absences are to be expected before the season starts. They would become worrisome if they were to linger into the regular season. In the meantime, it is just a sign that football is closer by the day.