HENDERSON, Nev. — On the eve of training camp, Josh McDaniels’ message was one of optimism.
What else would you expect?
The Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach said despite star running back Josh Jacobs not in camp and the team’s top two defensive draft picks — Tyree Wilson and Byron Young — out with injuries, McDaniels begins his second year with the Raiders feeling good about things.
“We’re excited to get started,” he said Tuesday at the team’s headquarters. “Every team goes through changes and we have a lot of new faces that we hope can come in and make us better.”
He can feel good about things. But the reality is the Raiders, who are coming off a 6-11 season and dropped their final three games in 2022, have far more questions than answers as camp begins Wednesday.
The Raiders are hoping that veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, one of those new faces, can stay on the field throughout the season and give the team a chance to not only compete in the rugged AFC West, but win enough games to make the Raiders playoff contenders.
Garoppolo has been medically cleared to practice after dealing with a foot injury but McDaniels said they’re not going to rush him.
“There’s no restrictions, but we’ll do with him what we do with any player coming off an injury,” he said. “We’ll be smart with how we do things and it shouldn’t affect us that much.”
The Raiders played four preseason games last year and then-starting QB Derek Carr was kept in bubble wrap and never saw the field. The Raiders have three trial runs before their Sept. 10 regular season opener at Denver, starting Aug. 13 against the San Francisco 49ers, Garoppolo’s former team, at Allegiant Stadium. We’ll see if history repeats itself and the snaps are all taken by Garoppolo’s backups.
For the time being, whoever is over center won’t be able to hand the ball to Josh Jacobs, the NFL’s leading rusher from 2022. Jacobs, who ran for 1,653 yards, refused to sign for the franchise tag worth $10 million and has left town. In the wake of the news Tuesday that fellow franchise tag denier Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants agreed to play for $13 million this year, you have to wonder if Jacobs and the Raiders could strike a similar one-year deal.
McDaniels couldn’t answer that question as it is more in general manager Dave Ziegler’s bailiwick. But he did say that whenever Jacobs’ situation gets resolved, he’ll be excited to have him back on the field.
“I respect every player’s right to do what’s best for them,” he said. “I look forward seeing him whenever he gets here.”
It means Zamir White, the second-year back out of Georgia who had just 14 carries for 70 yards in his rookie season in 2022, has a tremendous opportunity to make a case for more playing time as Jacobs stays away.
“He’s one of several guys coming into their second year for us,” McDaniels said of White. “Our job is to get them to improve. A lot of guys were here at the facility the entire time during the off-season which we hope will help in their development.”
Defensively, the Raiders, who were 28th overall last year allowing 24.6 points per game and 366 yards, hoped to bolster their secondary by signing veteran cornerback Marcus Peters Monday to a one-year deal. Peters, a three-time all-pro in nine NFL seasons, has 19 career interceptions.
“Marcus has been a highly decorated player throughout his career,” McDaniels said. “He’s a very intelligent football player, very bright and understands the game. He wants to be a Raider and we’re excited to have him in our group.”
But not having both Wilson, who underwent foot surgery in the off season and is on the non-football injured list, and Young, who has an undisclosed injury and is on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. for the start of camp can’t be seen as a positive. To that end, signing veteran defensive end Isaac Rochell on Monday helps provide some depth.
On the other side, the offensive line has some new faces to integrate in an attempt to improve and with tight end Darren Waller gone, that position remains a question mark. McDaniels hopes rookie second-round pick Michael Mayer can make an immediate impact.
“The first thing we want is for them to compete,” McDaniels said of the team’s O-line which was part of a team offense which ranked 12th in the NFL last year, averaging 23.2 points. “Communication is important and continuity is also important. But we have a lot of confidence with that group.”
McDaniels said all the right things Tuesday. And despite the absences and the uncertainties, the Raiders don’t play a game that matters for more than six weeks. Things can change a lot between now and Sept. 10, so perhaps McDaniels has cause for optimism. As he said, this is his 23rd year coaching in the NFL and nobody gets awarded the Lombardi Trophy in July.
Still, with an impatient fan base that expects better than 6-11, management appears committed to the old “It’s a process” tagline.
“We’ve got to try and get better each day, each week,” McDaniels said.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see how many questions get answered in the coming weeks and months.
