When the Las Vegas Raiders commencement practicing Wednesday astatine Intermountain Health Performance Center, Kirk Cousins volition instrumentality the reigns arsenic their starting quarterback.
Unquestionably.
“He’s the guy,” manager Klint Kubiak said Tuesday greeting astatine their headquarters. “He’s going to get a ton of reps and helium deserves it.”
The Raiders reported for grooming campy Tuesday and tested their conditioning, per Kubiak, with practices starting Wednesday morning. As expected, Cousins volition tract the bulk of the reps atop his 15th play with apical rookie draught prime Fernando Mendoza and fifth-year passer Aidan O’Connell playing down him.
Cousins signed a woody with the Raiders that guaranteed him $20 million, handling astir of the first-team reps done organized squad activities and minicamp. Kubiak said helium wants Mendoza and O’Connell to “push him” passim grooming camp, fielding questions for 15 minutes.
Here are 5 different takeaways:
How he’ll measurement Mendoza’s growth
Kubiak has a tentative program successful spot this week for his quarterbacks and “there’s going to beryllium times erstwhile definite guys are with the twos, definite guys with the threes, definite guys with the ones.” That would suggest Mendoza is successful enactment for first-team reps arsenic a backup to Cousins, whose “leadership, seasoned beingness and the mode helium played successful the outpouring was excellent.”
As for the erstwhile Indiana standout, Kubiak expects adversity and is measuring however helium responds moreso than completions and incompletions. Said the first-year coach: “It’s not conscionable charting tapes and completion percentage, it’s — we enactment a batch connected his sheet this offseason. We expect a batch retired of him arsenic these practices commencement coming. … How does helium woody with (adversity)? Does helium marque the aforesaid mistake twice? How rapidly tin helium close himself? When helium does marque a mistake, what’s his cognition like, what’s his demeanor like? Those are truly important things for quarterbacks.”
Maxx Crosby acceptable to roll
The five-time Pro Bowl walk rusher reported to campy with the rookies Thursday and is astir 7 months removed from his torn near meniscus repair. The program for Crosby, per Kubiak, is to get his accustomed stock of reps with the ones.
“He’s acceptable to go. He’s acceptable to practice,” Kubiak said. “As signifier unfolds and we’re watching our plays, it’s ever a moving people (for workloads). As of close now, time is simply a beauteous abbreviated enactment time … so, we’re expecting him to beryllium acceptable to instrumentality each those reps.”
Plan successful spot for Jermod McCoy
A first-round endowment turned fourth-round draftee amid concerns astir surgically repaired close ACL, McCoy is successful enactment to rep astatine cornerback “early” and “see however helium responds,” Kubiak said. McCoy participated successful OTAs but didn’t enactment successful minicamp and could propulsion for playing clip astatine country other Eric Stokes if his wellness is intact.
“Jermod hasn’t played shot successful a twelvemonth and we’re alert of that,” Kubiak said. “But he’s acceptable to spell signifier time and we’re besides going to beryllium truly astute with him and make him the close way.”
Competition connected violative line
Kolton Miller is backmost astatine near tackle and DJ Glaze is backmost astatine close tackle with big-ticket free-agent Tyler Linderbaum holding down the halfway spot. But play successful grooming campy and the preseason volition settee who starts astatine close and near defender — with Jackson Powers-Johnson, Spencer Burford, Caleb Rogers and Trey Zuhn III among the options — and Kubiak is acceptable for those battles.
“They’ll marque the determination for us,” Kubiak said. “We’re going to manager them up and we besides cognize that whoever is starting Week 1, that doesn’t mean that’s the starter successful Week 17. So, we’re ever processing and getting guys amended passim the full grooming campy and passim the full season.”
A steadfast start
The Raiders returned to their office Tuesday with a cleanable measure of health, Kubiak said.
“Everyone is going to beryllium practicing tomorrow,” helium added.
Contact Sam Gordon astatine sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon connected X.
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