What to watch in Saturday’s Raiders-Rams game

LOS ANGELES — The Raiders roll into SoFi Stadium to play the Rams on Saturday, and a large contingent of Raiders fans are expected to be on hand.

Southern California has been a Raiders hotbed for a long time. While the Rams are making headway since returning to Los Angeles in 2016, the Silver and Black presence remains.

What exactly the fans can expect from the Raiders remains to be seen. That’s especially true in terms of who plays and who watches from the sideline. After spending Wednesday and Thursday practicing against the Rams, coach Jon Gruden was mum on what his plans are for utilizing key players.

The work the Raiders put in this week could override any need to push it on Saturday. Leg injuries to starting linebacker Nicholas Morrow and guard Richie Incognito on Thursday might be all the proof Gruden needs to wrap his starters up in bubble wrap against the Rams.

According to a person with knowledge of the Morrow and Incognito situations, Morrow could be facing a multiple-week absence. Incognito appears to have suffered a much less significant injury.

“We’re going to try to be smart and also try to keep on schedule in terms of our young players’ development and this team’s development,” Gruden said earlier this week. “So we’ll meet as a staff and determine who’s up and who’s out here in the next day or so.”

Here are three things to keep an eye on:

Marcus Mariota

After tweaking his leg during practice last week, Mariota did not play in the Raiders’ preseason win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Two things point to that changing for Mariota on Saturday: First, he was a full participant in workouts all week, including the two practices against the Rams, and showed no ill effects from the leg issue. Second, the Raiders’ release of fourth-string quarterback Case Cookus this week is a signal they are comfortable that Mariota and third-string quarterback Nathan Peterman can get them through the game.

Getting Mariota extensive playing time should be a priority. The former Heisman Trophy winner played just one game last year while spending most of the season overcoming a pair of injuries, so it is imperative he gets some much-needed live reps.

The Raiders are counting on Mariota to be a viable backup to Derek Carr, someone they trust to keep their heads above water should Carr go down for any length of time. In addition, there is a chance Mariota will have a situational package written into the game plan this year. For both reasons, getting him on the field during the preseason is important.

The defensive line

The Raiders added a bunch of new players along the defensive line during the offseason. While they are set with Quinton Jefferson and Johnathan Hankins as the starters, the ultimate roles of Soloman Thomas, Darius Philon, Gerald McCoy, Darius Stills, Kendal Vickers, Niles Scott and Matt Dickerson are still to be determined.

A case can be made for all of them to be on the final roster, based on their play during training camp, but the numbers game makes that not feasible.

Thomas, Philon and McCoy appear the most likely to be on the roster and in the rotation, but Vickers, Stills, Scott and Dickerson are all making strong cases. Saturday’s preseason game could go a long way toward getting things sorted out.

Slot cornerback

Rookie Nate Hobbs carried a strong performance against the Seahawks into another effective week of practice, including the two workouts against the Rams. He received the majority of reps with the first-team defense and seems to be trending toward winning the starting job.

Nevin Lawson, who is penciled in as the starter, is suspended for the first two regular-season games, so the Raiders need a temporary replacement even if he does hang on to the job.

It’s also worth monitoring second-year corner Amik Robertson, who is fighting to secure a spot on the final roster. Robertson has been showing improvement. The Raiders would like nothing more than for him to step up this year after a rocky rookie season.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore onTwitter.