Raiders rookie receiver Jeff Foreman was carted off the field during Monday’s practice. Foreman injured a knee, Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
Foreman, undrafted out of Arkansas State, was in a team drill in the red zone near the end of practice. He went down as he tried to plant his foot.
Hill reports that Foreman was in obvious pain as the team’s medical staff placed him a blue sleeve and loaded him on a cart.
The extent of Foreman’s injury is unknown, though he surely will undergo an MRI.
The Raiders again practiced without star receiver Davante Adams on Monday as he is awaiting the birth of his third child.
The Raiders’ quarterback competition will reach a checkpoint this week when Las Vegas takes on Minnesota to open preseason play.
On Monday, head coach Antonio Pierce told reporters in his press conference that he hasn’t decided who will take the first snap. But both Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew are set to receive plenty of time behind center on Saturday.
“We’ve still got two more true training camp practices, then we’ve got Wednesday, Thursday — that’s when we’ll start looking at what we want to do game-wise. But both quarterbacks are going to play a legit quarter,” Pierce said. “Who goes out first, who goes out second really doesn’t matter. They’ll get, hopefully, an equal amount of snaps and opportunities to showcase.”
Pierce noted that neither quarterback has really separated himself from the other at this point.
“I don’t think we [can] sit there and say somebody’s won yet,” Pierce said. “I think they’ve both had good moments. I got back, I think Gardner’s had several days now where he’s made some plays. But there’s also turnovers that show up that we don’t want to have happen as well. And when I look at Aidan, I see a guy that’s throwing the ball accurate, I see some drops by wide receivers. And I don’t think it’s just on the quarterbacks, I think overall our offensive play has to pick up. Sense of urgency — wide receivers, O-line, just all those guys.
“I go back to the very beginning in my opening statement of training camp, they’re going against a very good defense. And I think they’re feeling that and I think it’s good for our team, the competition part. But, obviously, somebody, again, has to step up. And we’re getting closer and closer. And obviously we’re getting into game-week mode a little bit as we get later in the week.”
Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden is on the Chiefs’ practice field today.
Gruden is wearing Chiefs gear and working alongside head coach Andy Reid and several Chiefs assistants, according to reporters on the scene. Gruden and Reid have known each other for decades, having both worked on the Packers’ offensive staff from 1992 to 1994.
Gruden was head coach of the Raiders from 1998 to 2001, head coach of the Buccaneers from 2002 to 2008, and head coach of the Raiders again from 2018 to 2021.
The 60-year-old Gruden has been out of coaching since he was abruptly fired during the 2021 season after racist, sexist and homophobic emails he had sent years earlier were made public. Gruden is attempting to sue the NFL in connection with that incident.
But Gruden has been slowly accepted back into the NFL coaching ranks, having worked for the Saints as a consultant last year and now doing some work with the Chiefs. There’s been no word on whether Gruden will have a significant role with the team, or whether he’s just visiting today.
The Packers conducted their annual Family Night practice on Saturday. Newcomer Josh Jacobs didn’t participate in 11-on-11 drills during the open session.
Via Zach Kruse of USA Today, Jacobs is recovering from a minor groin issue. He’s expected to return to practice without limitations on Tuesday.
The Packers signed Jacobs as a free agent in March, moving on from former starter Aaron Jones. Jacobs led the NFL in rushing in 2022, with 1,653 yards. Last season, he generated 805 rushing yards with the Raiders.
If healthy in 2024, Jacobs becomes an ideal complement to quarterback Jordan Love, setting Green Bay up for a potential pick-your-poison offense.
There are plenty of people keeping tabs on the Raiders’ quarterback competition and wide receiver Davante Adams is at the top of the list.
Adams will be a leading target for either Aidan O’Connell or Gardner Minshew this season, so it’s no surprise that he is making sure that he is aware of everything that’s going on with the two quarterbacks this summer. Part of that process is making sure that he’s on the same page with both options because the timeline for the team to make a choice remains up in the air.
“There’s pros and cons, but at the end of the day, we get enough reps with both guys and we are all communicating,” Adams said, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. “We have really open conversations, and we all get reps with all the quarterbacks . . . and I’m definitely watching at all times, seeing everything and learning how the ball comes out with Gardner versus Aidan. I got my antennas up for everything.”
Adams has talked about the Raiders having a “fresh slate” this season after a frustrating 2023 season with the AFC West club. Picking the right quarterback and finding the right groove with Adams would go a long way toward making sure this year is a more pleasant one.
After Aaron Rodgers said he looked forward to playing with Davante Adams again, the receiver and his agents were compelled to make it clear the receiver is staying in Las Vegas. For now, anyway.
Rodgers stoked the rumors of a reunion with Adams during the American Century Championship golf tournament in Lake Tahoe earlier this month, telling a reporter, “I love Davante. I can’t wait to play with him . . . again.”
On Monday, Rodgers was asked about his comment that ignited the Adams-to-New York rumors.
“Well, I do love Davante, for sure,” Rodgers said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN. “That particular [reporter] was a tad bit irritating. Those are things where it’s like somebody is asking the same question over and over and over, and I just give him something and get rid of them.”
With a smile, Rodgers added, “Yeah, but I think I was talking about golf.”
Adams has 622 catches for 7,590 yards and 69 touchdowns in 108 games with Rodgers, and he made the Pro Bowl five times with the Packers.
The Raiders’ quarterback competition between Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew may begin to heat up on Tuesday with the club’s first padded practice.
Before the session, head coach Antonio Pierce said in his press conference that things are at “status quo” between the two QBs, with neither creating much separation so far.
“I’d like to see — again, I’m gonna keep saying it — somebody to just take it and say, ‘I’m the guy, AP.’ Make it clear and evident,” Pierce said. “And then we’ll make that decision at that point.”
Pierce added that putting pads on should help the offense, and by extension the quarterbacks to make more of an impact.
“I think it’s difficult when we don’t have pads on,” Pierce said. “There’s a lot of things, I’m sure you saw it looked like the defense was winning. But obviously, you hope that will stop now with pads on — a little more resistant. But it goes back to the No. 1 thing is taking care of the ball, putting the team in a position to win. Managing the offense, understanding the operational [elements]. You saw some situational stuff there yesterday. I think our guys are doing a good job. Both quarterbacks are really embracing it. But, again, I’ll just go back to it — somebody has to just separate from the other.”
Reports from Raiders camp have indicated both O’Connell and Minshew have been inconsistent in practice, though O’Connell is committing fewer turnover-worthy plays. We’ll see if that changes as Las Vegas continues to get ready for the season this week.
Well, we were wrong.
We thought former Raiders coach Jon Gruden had exhausted all legal options in Nevada, and that his only path for trying to avoid mandatory arbitration of his case against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell led to the U.S. Supreme Court.
As it turns out, Gruden had one more move before asking the Supreme Court to take the case. Gruden, via Michael McCann of Sportico.com, has filed a motion for “en banc” consideration of the case by the Nevada Supreme Court.
Gruden previously lost before a three-judge panel, 2-1. He then moved for reconsideration. It was denied. The next step is to ask the full, seven-judge court to consider the issue.
The issue is whether the NFL can use its Constitution & Bylaws as the avenue for pulling Gruden’s lawsuit out of court and forcing it into the NFL’s secret, rigged, kangaroo court. Gruden claims that the NFL and/or Goodell selectively leaked emails secured during the Washington investigation, with the goal of getting him pushed out of his job. The league contends that the claims should be arbitrated because Goodell has full authority over any instances of conduct detrimental to the league. (Article VIII, Section 8.3(E) gives the Commissioner the “full, complete, and final jurisdiction and authority to arbitrate . . . [a]ny dispute involving a member or members in the League or any players or employees of the members of the League or any combination thereof that in the opinion of the Commissioner constitutes conduct detrimental to the best interests of the League or professional football.”)
Is the conduct detrimental to the NFL in this case the Gruden emails? Is it the leak of them during the season, in a way that undermined the integrity of that season? And can, as the Brian Flores litigation is currently attacking, the Commissioner properly serve as a fair decider of these matters?
In this case, the Commissioner is one of the defendants to the Gruden lawsuit.
Beyond the enhanced likelihood of a favorable outcome, arbitration lets the league keep it all under wraps. Not many people had access to the Washington emails. Someone gave them to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times with the goal of taking Gruden out. If the case is resolved through the NFL’s arbitration system, we’ll likely never know who did it.
As we’ve said before, Gruden could have pushed out before or after the 2021 season. Doing it during the 2021 season undermined the integrity of the season and any Raiders-related wagers.
Regardless of whether Gruden got what he deserved, Raiders fans didn’t deserve to have their season turned upside down while it was happening. There’s a strong public interest in having that information made available.
Frankly, that’s as good a reason as any to let Gruden’s case play out in court.
The Raiders have signed free agent wide receiver Terrell Bynum, the team announced Monday.
Bynum was most recently with the Colts.
He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chargers in 2023 and spent last season on the Chargers’ practice squad. Bynum saw action in one regular-season game, playing one offensive snap.
He finished his college career at USC, appearing in 10 games and totaling 16 receptions for 159 yards and one touchdown in 2022. Bynum appeared in 34 games at the University of Washington.
In a corresponding transaction, the Raiders waived linebacker Darien Butler with a failed physical. He missed all of Las Vegas’ 2023 season on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury,
NFL teams are trying new strategies and techniques with the new rule on kickoffs this season, but one thing they won’t do is place the ball flat on the kicking tee.
The league has told all teams that the ball must be placed upright on the tee and no more than an inch off the ground.
According to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, the league sent a memo to all 32 teams outlining the proper procedures for putting the ball on the tee.
“We remind clubs that the clarification sent on 12/14/2022 regarding placement of the ball into the well has not changed. Rules do not ever allow the ball to be elevated more than one inch,” the memo said. “While placement of a ball vertically into the well of the tee satisfies the rule requirement that the tip of the ball is not elevated more than one inch, this cannot be achieved by holding the ball on the edge of the tee, nor can it be satisfied by placing the ball horizontally on top of the tee. Placing the ball flat does not put the ball into the well of the tee sufficiently to satisfy the 1" elevation requirement, therefore, game officials will be instructed not to allow any kickoff attempt on a tee in that position. The ball can be placed on the ground in any orientation at the proper yard line, or it can be leaned against the side of the tee as long as the tee is in its normal upright position.”
The rules clarification originally came late in the 2022 season, when the Raiders began using a holder on kickoffs to place the ball on top of the tee, rather than in the tee, and allow their kicker to get a little more hang time by getting under the ball. After initially saying the Raiders could do that, the NFL reversed course and said the ball had to be placed with the nose of the ball in the well of the tee. That remains the rule, and the NFL has reminded teams about that.