The Las Vegas Raiders football team is in an important offseason under their first full year with head coach Antonio Pierce. These are the biggest takeaways from the offseason as the team gets ready for the start of the regular season.
OTA’s and Minicamp Recap
As OTA’s began, there was one main standout – second-year tight end, Michael Mayer. Many have written off the former second-round pick after the Raiders selected Brock Bowers 12th overall this year. However, that could not be further from the truth.
New offensive coordinator Luke Getsy runs a scheme which has proven to get the ball in the hands of multiple tight end’s. And despite having two very good options at the position, Mayer is looking set for a breakout year.
However, it was not all good news for the Raiders. Star LT Kolton Miller was not present. It was unclear at the time as to whether this was due to an injury, or perhaps the first sign that he was looking for a new deal. Either way, it is never a good sign to see that a key veteran contributor was absent from practice.
Las Vegas Raiders Training Camp
Perhaps the biggest news coming out of the Raiders training camp, was that rookie RB Dylan Laube was showing out. As a sixth-round pick, it was believed that he was just a roster bubble player who may get work on special teams and throughout the preseason. Yet as training camp progressed, Laube shined; even getting work with the first team unit as a third-down back.
In another surprise, newly signed WR Michael Gallup retired from football. Gallup, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, was brought in to Las Vegas to provide pivotal depth at WR. This meant that his retirement leaves the Raiders with a hole in that position group.
Now, there are only three locks to make the Raiders roster at wide receiver, with Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, and Tre Tucker; with Tucker having the potential to be the X-Factor of the entire season for the offense.
First preseason game against the Vikings
With the season fast approaching, it was finally time for live play in front of a crowd. After rookie QB J.J McCarthy took a shot at the Raiders defense in a press conference before the game, it was up to the Silver and Black to prove him wrong.
After a first half where the majority of the starters for Las Vegas played, the Raiders were heavily in control. Cornerback Jack Jones proved to the rookie that the Raiders’ defense was anything but ‘vanilla’, baiting McCarthy into an interception after he came in at the start of the second quarter.
Following an offseason of much debate about the QB battle, it was Aidan O’Connell who started as the Raiders signal caller. And for 92 yards on the opening drive, he looked sharp and made some nice plays. This included a 12-yard pass to Meyers to keep the drive alive. However, the offense would stall in the redzone and settle for a field goal.
Just before the turn of the quarter, Gardener Minshew came into the game for the Raiders and immediately made a splash. In his second play, he connected with D.J. Turner on a 20-yard touchdown pass. Heading into the second quarter, Minshew came to play following the aforementioned Jones interception. Following a huge 48-yard play from Tucker, running back Zamir White was there to finish the job and take it into the endzone for a 2-yard touchdown.
The second half in Minnesota
The second half of this game was a different story.
With the Raiders subbing out the majority of their starters, McCarthy began to tick. He connected with Trishton Jackson on a 45-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive to set the tone for the second half. Eventually, the Vikings sealed the victory with a 37 yard field goal as time expired.
Second preseason game against the Cowboys
The Raiders would fall to 0-2 after a pretty uninspiring display against the Cowboys. However, Tucker shined as both a receiver and a returner, giving some inspiration to Raiders fans.
This was meant to be the game which decided the Raiders starting QB for Week 1 of the regular season. However, it seemed in head coach Antonio Pierce’s postgame press conference, that there were more questions to be asked first.
After a less than optimal few drives from Minshew, O’ Connell came in and looked good. He threw the Raiders’ only touchdown of the evening to TE Harrison Bryant. And at that point, it looked like the sophomore’s job to lose. However, he followed that up with an ugly pick-six that likely caused some concern.
After the game, the Raiders announced that Minshew would be the starter in Las Vegas in Week 1. This did not surprise many, as Minshew looked a lot better at extending plays with his legs than O’ Connell.
Third preseason game against the 49ers
The Raiders rested all of their starters for this game, having Nathan Peterman start at quarterback.
The Raiders offense would finally get on the board after a moment of brilliance from fourth-year WR Tyreik McAllister. McAllister secured an 81-yard punt return touchdown to the joy of Raiders’ fans. The half would end with a 10-play drive by Las Vegas culminating in a 3-yard pass to Christian Wilkerson for a touchdown.
In the third quarter, quarterback Carter Bradley was in the game and he came out slinging. The drive would end with the aforementioned McAllister making a spectacular catch and breaking a tackle to take it to the house.
Down 24-21 in the fourth quarter, linebacker Jackson Mitchell forced a fumble, with safety Phalen Sanford scooping the ball to put the Raiders in scoring position. However, no points would be scored by the Raiders following a fourth-down interception on a back shoulder fade into the endzone.
Wide receiver Ramel Keyton would make one-handed catch in the Raiders last drive, one of his three grabs to set the Raiders up in field goal range to tie the game 24-24. The game would end this way, despite some attempted laterals on the last play of the game by the 49ers.
