Raiders healthier, sharper in return to practice
NAPA, Calif. — The first off-day of training camp did the Raiders some good.
A return to health. A return to form.
Outside linebacker Bruce Irvin and defensive lineman Mario Edwards made their camp debuts Thursday, being activated from the non-football injury list. Wide receiver Amari Cooper also practiced after resting Tuesday. All in all, things were positive for a club that entered Wednesday’s break coming off its sloppiest practice of camp.
Coach Jack Del Rio seemed pleased with the response.
He had called Tuesday “just OK, a little sloppy.”
“Much better day today,” Del Rio said Thursday. “Coming back from an off-day, I thought the guys were focused, zeroed in and a whole lot better. That’s the way we need to work to be a good football team. … To me, it’s what we want to see.”
Cooper exited Monday’s practice with an undisclosed ailment.
He could have practiced Tuesday, but the team elected to rest its star wide receiver, seeing how one day’s rest effectively was two given Wednesday’s schedule. Irvin and Edwards missed four practices, including two in pads. They were eased back into their return to action. The Raiders hope to rely on both in 2017 to faciliate their pass rush with offenses keying on defensive end Khalil Mack.
Cornerback Gareon Conley, center Jon Feliciano, defensive end Jihad Ward, linebacker Ben Heeney and tight end Cooper Helfet have yet to practice this summer.
Conley, the team’s first-round pick, is considered day-to-day with shin splints.
Sigh of relief
Crisis averted.
Right tackle David Sharpe went down Thursday, and for a moment, it didn’t look good.
The Raiders ran an 11-on-11 drill midway into practice. A teammate tripped and fell into Sharpe’s lower leg, forcing him to the ground. The rookie fourth-round pick was slow to his feet and limped off for treatment. He returned to practice several minutes later and finished the day with his ankle wrapped.
Sharpe has seen heavy second-team reps this spring and training camp.
New faces
Two players are expected to join the Raiders for Friday’s practice.
Linebacker Rufus Johnson agreed to terms Thursday, his agent Sean Stellato said, one day after being involved in a “serious car accident.” The Raiders also reportedly signed former Jets and Bills defensive end IK Enemkpali to a one-year deal.
Enemkpali is best known for having punched a teammate, then-Jets quarterback Geno Smith, in the jaw in 2015. He was cut shortly thereafter, caught on with Buffalo and then played 11 games, tallying 13 tackles with two pass deflections.
A torn ACL forced him to miss all of the 2016 season.
Johnson was a 2013 sixth-round pick out of Tarleton State, a Division II school in Stephenville, Texas. He’s bounced between the Saints, Patriots and Redskins’ practice squad. His one career tackle came with New England in 2015.
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Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GehlkenNFL on Twitter.