Raiders to play in Hall of Fame game

The Raiders will play the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 4 in Canton, Ohio, the league announced Monday.

The game is the NFL’s annual preseason kickoff and is the centerpiece of a weekend of events honoring the new inductees.

The announcement comes as late wide receiver Cliff Branch will be one of the Hall of Fame inductees as well as former Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour. Seymour played for both the New England Patriots and Raiders during his distinguished career.

The Thursday night game will be the debut for Raiders coach Josh McDaniels and Jaguars coach Doug Pederson. It will kick off the weekend festivities with the inductions taking place during a Saturday ceremony.

By playing in the Hall of Fame Game, the Raiders will now play four preseason games rather than the three that the rest of the NFL moved to with a 17-game regular-season schedule last season.

In addition, the Raiders will open training camp a week sooner than other teams to prepare for an earlier start to the preseason. With a new coaching staff in place, the extra time and game could be beneficial.

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