Gordon: Trip across the pond inspires Raiders right tackle
He left London in 2009 with a plan in place to play professional football. But his return in 2017 as an NFL rookie was far from fulfilling.
Jermaine Eluemunor’s Baltimore Ravens played the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium, falling 44-7 — and leaving little time for the right tackle, now with the Raiders, to reconnect with his roots.
“I didn’t get to really go around London and go back home and see some of my friends because we were busy with the season,” the 28-year-old Briton said Wednesday after the second padded practice of his second training camp in Las Vegas.
“When I went there, it was just a media bombardment.”
Not this time, though. Not this summer.
Before reporting to training camp for his seventh NFL season, Eluemunor got married — and ventured across the pond to host an American football camp with 55 or so prospective players. The trip helped rejuvenate the 6-foot-4-inch, 325-pound Texas A&M alum, who hadn’t returned on his terms to England in 14 years.
“And also, going back home, seeing my friends and my family — I got to see some guys I sent to school with 14 years ago,” Eluemunor said. “It hit different because it showed me how far I’ve come and far I have left to go.
“And it just made me want to be successful in this sport even more so I can bring it back over there on a bigger platform.”
A return to London
The trip was six years in the making, and Eluemunor likely won’t wait that long again to return. He intends to go back next year to host another camp, this time at multiple locations with upward of 150 or 200 participants.
The NFL’s visibility abroad has increased amid the 35 games its teams have played since 2007 in England — and through the emergence of Eluemunor, an incumbent starter for the first time in his career.
“For me, leaving England, I had a mission and a goal,” Eluemunor said. “Going back there and seeing where I used to live and where I used to play and the streets I used to walk, it was surreal. It definitely hit different because when you’re that young, you don’t really expect the goals that you have to come true when you’re older.”
But Eluemunor’s goals were nearly undermined by struggles he experienced earlier in his career. He started three games in two seasons for the Ravens, who traded him in 2020 to the New England Patriots, with whom he battled a litany of injuries while oscillating in and out of the lineup.
After signing with the Raiders in 2021, he hardly played — instead sifting through the sewage on social media.
“I let the sport consume me. I let social media destroy me inside and out,” he said.
But Eluemunor has since realized “it’s just words on your phone. It took a while for me to get to that state of mind and that mentality. But I truly feel like this year, I have a grip on that.”
The spoils of starting all 17 games.
A return to the right side
Eluemunor’s return at right tackle — despite competition in training camp from second-year tackle Thayer Munford — ensures the Raiders begin 2023 with the same offensive line that concluded 2022.
The unit was the NFL’s 10th best, according to Pro Football Focus.
Said left tackle Kolton Miller: “By keeping the group together. I know from the experience of last year, along with the growth guys have had, added strength, coming out here and seeing the focus, the attention to detail — it’s very promising, and we want to continue to work and get better.”
The Raiders are poised to have the best iteration of Eluemunor, emboldened by his successes last season and inspired by his adventures this summer.
“Growing (football in England) is a huge thing for me, mentally,” he said. “In this game, you can get stressed about the little things, and if you don’t find something to somewhat help relieve your stress then it’ll just consume you.
“Going to back England was one of things that helped mellow me out and really put me mind where it needed to be, giving me the motivation I need going into the season.”
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.