The Las Vegas Raiders veterans arrived for training camp on Tuesday, and head coach Jon Gruden gave some insight on where the franchise feels they are.
It seems as if the period of time between the NFL Draft and the start of training camp becomes longer and longer each season. However, today, the Las Vegas Raiders arrived in Henderson, Nevada, for their inaugural (Non-modified Covid-19 pandemic) training camp in the Silver State.
As the dust settles after the arrival day of training camp, Jon Gruden took to the podium, giving a bit of a State of the Franchise as we get ready to kick off the summer months.
Jon Gruden’s opening day remarks weren’t earth-shattering, for once
As many know, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is relatively unpredictable. When it comes to personnel decisions, roster moves, and just about anything related to football, he keeps everyone on their toes. However, today in the Raiders’ first training camp press conference, he kept most of his responses to media relatively low-key.
Here are a few quick bullet points of what the Silver and Black’s head coach said today:
First, all of the coaching staff has been vaccinated, something that is going to get a lot of traction this summer. However, one of their key defensive players, Clelin Ferrell, has stated he is not, and that could cost him a chunk of change if he happens to get the virus down the road.
In terms of injury, Divine Deablo underwent a procedure and should be back during training camp, as will undrafted free agent Darius Stills, who is dealing with a back injury. Nicholas Morrow continues to become a huge part of this franchise, and according to Vic Tafur of the Athletic, could be in line to be a team captain in 2021.
Turning to offense, the expectation is that John Brown will fill the leadership void at wideout by Nelson Agholor, and Zay Jones continues to get praise from Gruden. Henry Ruggs III has high expectations, and the coach feels the best is yet to come.
There was one remark from the Raiders head coach that should raise some eyebrows
You thought that Jon Gruden would make it through a whole press conference without saying something to catch your immediate attention? Think again, as he believes that second-year CB Damon Arnette is an ‘Opening Day’ starter at the position.
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With Trayvon Mullen and veteran Casey Hayward now in the fold, this is without a doubt Gruden’s most interesting comment of the day. Arnette struggled last season in terms of tackling, discipline, and overall as a rookie.
The confidence in him as a starting player in the secondary seems to be a little over the top, considering Trayvon Mullen played more consistently last season. It could be that the Silver and Black coach is trying to instill some competition in the defense, but ultimately, he should wait for a player to produce before praising them.