The Oakland Raiders will kick off Phase III of their offseason workout program on Tuesday, as the offense and defense can start battling against each other.
The Oakland Raiders should be one of the more improved teams in the NFL this upcoming season, as they did a nice job building this roster on both sides of the ball. First-year general manager Mike Mayock has addressed plenty of weaknesses on this roster, and the expectation is they will be much better than the four-win team Oakland put on the field last season.
On Tuesday, the Raiders will enter Phase III of the team’s offseason workout schedule, as the offense and defense can start to battle it out against each other. It will be interesting to see what quarterback Derek Carr looks like with his brand new cast of weapons, especially going up against a much-improved secondary.
In this Phase, there is still no live contact, but the team’s can go against each other in 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills. During this four-week period, the Raiders will have to host their mandatory minicamp for the veterans, which is slated to take place from June 11-13.
We have already seen one big player go down due to injury during OTAs, as new Washington Redskins linebacker Reuben Foster tore up his knee on Monday. Not only are playing going to do their best to make a solid impression on the coaching staff, but they also need to stay healthy, as there are plenty of areas on this roster with little depth.
Once Phase III wraps up, the Raiders will start to have a better idea of what the position groups are going to look like heading into the summer. This is a team that should be much improved in 2019, and if everyone can stay healthy, there should be plenty of position battles as we inch closer to the regular season.