Raiders’ new center will carry father’s memory into opener

To this day, every time Andre James steps on the football field, be it for practice or a game, he carries with him the memory of his late father, Marcus James, who passed away from cancer five days before Andre started his 27th straight game for the UCLA Bruins in 2018.

“My dad introduced me to this game,” James said.

All the more reason Monday night will be so special for the Raiders’ new starting center.

Not only will he take the field as an established starter for the first time in his three-year NFL career. And go toe-to-toe with the Baltimore Ravens, historically one of the most physical teams in the league every year.

But he will do so with his father close to his heart. “I practice every day for him,” James said. “I play every day for him.”

James this season is replacing longtime Raiders starter Rodney Hudson as the leader of the offensive line.

“I get emotional just talking about it,” James said of the culmination of the NFL dream he and his father shared. “He was an awesome guy. I still hold him close to my heart.”

The challenge now, of course, is to push those emotions aside so he can carry out his responsibilities Monday night. After spending the last two seasons as Hudson’s understudy and developing under offensive line coach Tom Cable, it is James’ turn to assume control.

That means working in unison with Raiders quarterback Derek Carr to dissect what the typically complex Ravens defense is doing, and seamlessly relaying instructions to his teammates along the offensive line.

Which is why he is trying to keep his emotions as close to the vest as possible.

“Just another day going to work” is how James described his approach to Monday night’s season opener.

As far as the lead-up to the game, well, that is a little different. The Raiders have been doing a deep dive into the Ravens for a while now. What James sees is a versatile defense that challenges opponents to quickly disassemble what they are doing and then physically stand up to it.

“They’ve got a lot of different things that they do really well,” James said. “Preparation is a big thing going into this week. We had a lot of time before this first week to break them down, see their tendencies.”

It will help that Carr will be lining up behind him. While Monday represents only the second time the pair will team up as the Raiders’ starting quarterback/center tandem — back in 2019 James started a game for an injured Hudson — Carr has made it a point over time to build a relationship with James in preparation for the moment he replaced Hudson.

“The relationship I have with Andre has been great, really since he came in as a free agent,” Carr said. “I’ve had a great relationship with him. I love that guy. Fun to be around. Super smart. Works his tail off.”

Of course, it changes now that James is the starter. Especially with how important the synergy will be between Carr and James against a crafty Ravens defense. Going all the way back to OTAs and throughout training camp, Carr and James have essentially been joined at the hip in terms of reps and preparation.

The result is a feeling of comfort going into the opener. “We’re always confident,” Carr said.

In turn, James is excited about being Carr’s co-pilot.

“Derek is a great leader,” James said. “I couldn’t imagine playing with another quarterback. You want to play for dudes like that. True, real men.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.