Las Vegas Raiders fans are no strangers to the social media accounts of their favorite team’s players. Whether it’s stories posted on Instagram by Josh Jacobs that backfire or heated debates on Twitter, it’s not exactly breaking Raiders news. However, with training camp underway in Henderson, Brandon Parker spoke on this, in particular, how it pertains to the offensive line.
If there’s a unit that has seen tons of coverage this offseason, it’s the O-line. There’s a good reason for that, as some fans find themselves nervous about the group. That’s mostly due to the fact that no big names were added via NFL free agency. Even though the Raiders’ brass did a solid job in the draft, picking up Dylan Parham in the third round. Fully aware of this, Parker commented on social media and its effects this offseason.
“It does. We see it and a lot of us are on social media. We try not to let it affect us, but there is still that chip on our shoulder that we can be the top dogs.“
Is Brandon Parker approaching the situation correctly for the Raiders?
Parker would be doing himself a favor by not paying attention to Twitter or any other platform. The fact that these younger players take a measure of what’s being said certainly shows a shift. 20 or even 10 years ago, players weren’t concerned with social media. This offseason, there’s too much riding on the line for both Parker and the rest of this unit to be concerned with Raider Nation’s comments on Facebook.
“We kind of have been the butt of jokes a little bit, so we all kind of have that chip on our shoulder anyway. Andre being undrafted, John being in the third, and Lester being undrafted. Kolton, kind of the same thing as me, starting out rough. We are all just trying to be the best we can be. [As] I said, we have been the butt of some jokes. We see it.”
On the other hand, Parker admits that all of the outside noise provides a chip on his shoulder. If that’s what it takes for him to get motivated and be the best version of himself, so be it. You’ll hardly find any fans that take issue with that. At the end of the day, if this unit proves the doubters wrong, it won’t matter where or if they were drafted. Head coach Josh McDaniels is giving all of them a chance to compete, so a little extra motivation never hurts anyone.
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*Top Photo: NBC Sports Bay Area