Raiders to hold scrimmage at Allegiant Stadium

The Raiders will play at Allegiant Stadium earlier than expected. The team will hold a scrimmage at the stadium at 1 p.m. Friday, an event that will be closed to the public.

This scrimmage will be the Raiders’ first chance to break in their new stadium before the home opener against the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 21. Both of the team’s preseason games were canceled by the NFL last month because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The scrimmage will allow the Raiders to get a feel for their new home. Coach Jon Gruden has talked this week about the need to put his players in gamelike situations.

The Raiders on Monday began a 14-practice training camp segment in which they can work out in full pads. While the increased physicality is noticeable, those workouts still lack the actual element of defenders tackling ball carriers.

Without the benefit of preseason games, Gruden is looking for ways to simulate game action.

“It’s nice to play in pads. We are going to play these games in pads.” he said. “We can only have so many walk-throughs.”

Gruden said practice in pads will decide “who starts, who makes the team. You have to stage some live drills at some point.”

In particular, the Raiders want to get a good look at some first- and second-year players battling for starting jobs and roster spots. While the remaining padded practices will give them a glimpse, those workouts lack some of the essential elements needed to evaluate players.

That is typically where preseason games come into play. They become a stage for young players.

“(Raiders coaches are) going to make sure that they see everybody and what they’re capable of doing,” Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said. “But without preseason games, without all that extra playing time … You think about these undrafted guys, like Jalen Richard. What if he just came in and we have a stable full of backs like we did that year and it’s like, ‘Oh, well, I guess he’s not going to make it.’ ”