Raiders make notable training camp change under Antonio Pierce

During the 2023 preseason, the Raiders participated in joint practices with a slew of NFC West opponents: the Rams and 49ers. The year before that, the team got the chance to take on Josh McDaniels’ old team, the Patriots, in his first season at the helm of the Raiders. 

Under first-year head coach Antonio Pierce, however, the team has no joint practices scheduled for the preseason. There could be a last-minute change, but as of right now, 30 NFL teams will be involved in joint practices with other teams, and the Raiders are not one of them. The Rams have four scheduled, and teams like the Jets and Dolphins have three each, whereas every other organization in the NFL has one or two lined up, except for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Raiders.

Joint practices can be a great opportunity for a team to develop because they get a chance to see and hit other players and not just each other. Different players bring unique challenges to the game and getting a chance to see a quarterback at the level of Lamar Jackson or C.J. Stroud would be a different challenge than seeing AOC and Minshew every day.

The same goes for the offense, it could be beneficial to face a team with an elite secondary like the Jets or the 49ers. But the team elected not to go that way this season.

Commonly these joint practices are filled with tons of fights and a multitude of injuries. Yardbarker.com noted that last season big-name players like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Terron Armstead both left joint practices with injuries, while other players like Treylon Burks and Jameson Williams got hurt in them last season, as well. 

The other thing about these joint practices is that they are often misleading. During the 2022 preseason practice with the New England Patriots, the offense absolutely dominated with new wide receiver Davante Adams. New England had the second-best overall defense in the league the year prior and returned most of their talent, so there was a ton to be confident about for the Raiders. In reality, the Raiders finished with the 27th-most yards and 23rd-most points per game, and the Patriots still ended up with the seventh-best defense. 

It is always fun as fans to see the team face off against other opponents as early as possible, but it’s not a big deal that the Raiders have nothing scheduled. Pierce seems to be keeping things close to the vest, and while playing outside competition would be an interesting component of the ongoing quarterback battle, it’s hard not to support what Pierce thinks is best for the Silver and Black.