The 2020 regular season is less than two weeks away from starting, and all teams are getting ready for the opener. The Las Vegas Raiders aren’t any different and they are preparing for their matchup against the Carolina Panthers.
For those of us that have waited for our football fix, we are happy the NFL season is just around the corner. The draft and free agency came and went. Teams have released and added players they think will give them the best chance to compete on a weekly basis.
Even though fans are craving football and can’t wait much more, coaches are surely wishing they had a couple more weeks. All of them want to make sure they will have the best 53 players on the roster by Sept, 5th. The reason is that is the day teams have to have their rosters and practice squad set.
The Raiders, just like any other team, are in the process of evaluating their players. Even if they have already decided on 85 percent of their roster, they have to make sure they end up with the right, remaining 15 percent. There’s always the chance there will be a surprise cut or trade. Nevertheless, those are far and part, hence why they are surprising.
Without the benefit of the preseason, the Raiders will have to go with whatever they saw in training camp, which makes the evaluation of certain players a bit difficult. In the end, there’s not much they can do about it, and they need to be ready for their Week 1 game against the Panthers.
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Gruden won’t share much about the Raiders’ roster moves
In less than two weeks, the Silver and Black will be flying to Charlotte to take on the Panthers. Led by rookie NFL head coach Matt Rhule, Carolina could give the Raiders a fit or two. Head coach Jon Gruden is surely preparing the team for whatever curveball his rookie counterpart may throw at them. He won’t just share what his plan is.
In his latest press conference, Gruden said that he’s focused on evaluating his own players while avoiding talking about the Panthers.
“I’m not going to give anybody any billboard material. We are a young team and we are improving, our guys are working hard. I think you have seen that yourself. Our young draft choices, a couple of them, have taken steps forward, couple of them, we’re still waiting for, but we are getting better. I’m proud of the way our guys are working together on the practice field every day.”
Maybe Gruden won’t give any “billboard material” regarding the Panthers, but he got our attention when he mentioned the Raiders are waiting on a couple of rookies. It makes us wonder who might those be. Could it be Lynn Bowden Jr? Tanner Muse, who has had trouble adjusting to the NFL? We don’t know but we will find out soon.
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Top Photo: Mike McCarn/Associated Press