Raiders report: No prediction on Waller’s Week 1 status

While Josh McDaniels said Wednesday he isn’t concerned about the hamstring issue that has limited star tight end Darren Waller to one practice this month, the Raiders coach stopped short of assuring his availability for the regular-season opener.

“I don’t want to make a prediction on whether he will or won’t be ready here in a few weeks, but I see him every day,” McDaniels said. “He’s in every meeting and doing everything he can to get out there as fast as possible.”

Waller practiced on Aug. 11, but hasn’t been back on the field in a week as he nurses what has been reported as a minor hamstring issue.

The Raiders open the season on the road against the Chargers on Sept. 11.

McDaniels said he expects Waller will continue working hard to be ready to play against the divisional rival.

“He’s working his butt off,” McDaniels said. “He knows he’s going to be a big part of this team and what we want to do, and he’s right there in every meeting. So I’m not concerned about it.”

Despite Waller’s uncertain status, the Raiders wrapped up training camp on Wednesday relatively healthy.

Offensive tackles Brandon Parker and Thayer Munford have also been out of practice with Parker’s issue believed to be the more long-term absence.

“They are just working through their stuff,” McDaniels said. “I don’t want to put a timeframe on anyone right now, but I know they are working extremely hard to get back here as soon as possible and hopefully that’s sooner rather than later.”

Also missing from Wednesday’s session were tight end Jacob Hollister, center Hroniss Grasu, defensive lineman Tyler Lancaster and safeties Matthias Farley and Qwynnterrio Cole.

Making the cut

The Raiders are down to 80 players after getting through a pair of cut days during training camp.

Now the real trimming of the roster begins.

One final preseason game against the Patriots on Friday night will help McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler make a final decision about some of the players on the bubble before they must get down to 53 by Tuesday.

“We go through it every day,” McDaniels said. “Dave obviously is on top of everything like that. But he and I talk about it every morning, the middle of the day at practice, after we’ve seen the film and then in the evening before we leave. There’s … a lot you learn each day. Things change pretty quickly, plus you have injuries and things like that to consider.”

McDaniels and Ziegler may have the loudest voices in the room, but they believe in a collaborative process.

“(Ziegler) sets the table pretty well and then we try to get all the best information we can from the coaches and scouts, the people watching practice every day that see the players in every single drill to try to make the best decisions we can,” McDaniels said.

Priorities straight

Receiver Mack Hollins has put himself in a position to make the team through his work as a wide receiver, but he’s been a special teams stalwart throughout his five years in the NFL.

He continues to stress his work in the kicking game even as his role on offense potentially expands.

“It’s definitely important to me,” he said of special teams. “You get one opportunity in the kicking game, so that’s super important. There’s no second down where you can say, ‘I’ll beat my guy this time or I’ll get the block this time.’ You either win or lose and it’s a big chunk of field position. If I were to (drop a pass for 45 yards), people would say it’s a big deal. Same thing if you mess up punt coverage.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.