With OTAs fully underway for the Las Vegas Raiders, excitement for the upcoming season and the coming years feels like it is at an all-time high. Optimism certainly isn't at a premium within Raider Nation, let's just say that.
And while the Taron Johnson drama is casting a very minor shadow over the team right now, there is no reason to worry yet. Fans are crystal clear on why the veteran cornerback hasn't been attending the offseason program: He wants more guaranteed money, and Las Vegas will likely give it to him.
But Johnson, as it turns out, isn't the only veteran defender who has been absent recently. Players miss a day or two here and there for whatever reason, whether it be a personal commitment or nursing a small injury. Nakobe Dean, however, is MIA, and it is certainly raising a few eyebrows.
Nakobe Dean's absence from Las Vegas Raiders OTAs is unexplained and raising eyebrows
Let's go through the timeline. Dean signed with the Raiders during free agency and was seemingly a full participant in the offseason program, based on photos and videos available from the team website. But he hasn't been captured on camera since May 5, which is over three weeks ago.
Now, that wouldn't normally raise any red flags or sound any alarms. Guys don't get their picture taken every day, and the Silver and Black have 91 players currently on the practice field. It is tough getting camera time. But Dean did, in fact, miss last week's OTA practice that was open to the media.
An easy explanation for this surfaced: Dean posted on his Instagram story that he was attending a graduation. No harm, no foul. It was a personal absence, just like Jalen Nailor's last week for the birth of his child. No reason to panic for Raider Nation, right?
Well, Dean wasn't at Thursday's OTA practice that was open to the media, either, according to The Athletic's Sam Warren. And Dean has nothing on his Instagram story that indicates that he was at a graduation or otherwise occupied. But he did post pictures in a Raiders practice uniform last week.
Clearly, Dean isn't upset with the team. He just signed with them this offseason on a lucrative deal, and Las Vegas didn't exactly draft or sign anyone in the interim who is a threat to his starting job. Klint Kubiak told fans last week that these practices are mandatory and not to worry.
The concern, however, is that Dean is sidelined due to an injury. For as great a player as Dean is when healthy, he has struggled to stay on the field during his young NFL career. If he is already nursing some kind of ailment this early, it calls into question what the Raiders do behind him at linebacker.
This is pure speculation. Dean could be absent for any number of reasons, and his being significantly hurt is just closer to the worst-case scenario. It could be a precautionary thing, or maybe, as a veteran, he'd rather get to work elsewhere this time of year. That's not ideal, but certainly a possibility.
Regardless of the reason for his absence, not being on the field for OTAs is never good. It may be explainable or justified in some way, but that doesn't mean that Dean is still getting the reps in or working with his new coaches and teammates.
Whatever the reason for his absence is, hopefully Dean returns to the practice field soon. Like with Johnson, it is not quite time to worry yet. But if he doesn't practice during mandatory minicamp from June 9 to 11, then the panic meter may have to go up a bit.
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