Raiders report: Rains cuts Sunday practice short
The ominous clouds started hovering over the practice field during a goal-line period Sunday. The skies opened up during a simulated two-minute drill.
A session that started with sweltering heat ended a bit early when a monsoon brought wind and rain that wreaked havoc on the practice field.
“That’s what this was?” defensive tackle Andrew Billings said of the storm less than an hour after it had been more than 90 degrees with bright sun. “I never thought that would happen.”
The Raiders were in full pads for just the third time in this training camp and got in plenty of work before calling it a day. It appeared the wild swing in weather was anticipated because several periods were skipped just before the final planned drill to work on the hurry-up offense.
“I’ve never quite seen it go from (that hot) to a monsoon, but I’m from Birmingham, Alabama,” running back Kenyan Drake said. “I was just telling some people it’s actually the third rainiest city in America. Not many people know that. So I’m used to a lot of humidity and sometimes you just have to thug it out. If it rains.
“The air may get a little thick but it’s still a blessing to be out there.”
Even players who have been around the organization since the team moved to Southern Nevada three years ago were a bit caught off-guard by the sudden swing.
“Honestly, I don’t even remember it ever raining in Vegas,” safety Johnathan Abram said. “Truthfully. So the rain we’ve experienced the past couple days is kind of mind-blowing to me.”
The Raiders will be back on the field for practice Monday morning, their final session before traveling to Canton, Ohio, to participate in the Hall of Fame game on Thursday.
Participation report
Linebacker Micah Kiser was carted off the field early in Sunday’s practice and did not return.
There was no indication of the type of injury or severity from the team, but it appeared to be a non-contact issue.
While outside linebacker Chandler Jones missed his third straight practice, coach Josh McDaniels declined to offer any specifics. It’s of particular interest because one of his potential backups, Kyler Fackrell, went on injured reserve earlier this week.
“Any time we lose a player to injured reserve, it’s a loss,” McDaniels said. “But you have 90 guys on the roster that are all competing for this reason.
“We’ll see how it plays out over the course of training camp, but guys have stepped up and they have opportunities. Hopefully some of those guys take advantage of them.”
Defensive end Clelin Ferrell and safety Roderic Teamer were also held off the field again. Tight end Darren Waller was among a group to not be on the field during the session, though it’s unclear whether it was injury related.
“We have a number of guys working through some things and we’re not unique with that,” McDaniels said.
Nine’s a crowd
There are nine running backs on the Raiders roster, including several who have played at a high level in the NFL.
Eight-year veteran Ameer Abdullah said it has fostered a fun and competitive atmosphere as they all work to help make each other and the team better.
But he said the reality is that not all of them can make the team and there are going to be some players who expected to be on the regular-season roster find themselves released on cut day.
“You just take it one day at a time,” the 29-year-old said. “That’s what my father has always told me. You can’t live too much in the future because that breeds anxiety. You can’t live too much in the past because that breeds depression. So stay present and control what you can control.”
The group got a welcome addition on Saturday when highly touted rookie Zamir White practiced for the first time.
White was able to get in his first practice in full pads a day later on Sunday and McDaniels said he was hopeful White will be available for Thursday’s preseason game.
“Love his attitude,” he said. “Works really hard when he’s on the field. Very coachable. He’s a great kid. Just eager to see us try to string together some days and hopefully we can do that. He was doing some things both in the kicking game and offensively (in practice).”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
