Nakobe Dean didn’t participate in final practice of Raiders minicamp

Newly signed linebacker Nakobe Dean officially did not formal for the full Raiders offseason program.

While adjunct manager Mike McCoy confirmed that Dean has precocious been astir the building, helium did not look connected the tract for OTAs oregon minicamp this week, with the 2nd time of mandatory signifier concluding Wednesday.

“He’s been here. He’s a pro. This is the offseason. The No. 1 happening is that we’re taking it 1 time astatine a time,” McCoy said.

“You get done the adjacent mates of days of the minicamp, and past you get done grooming camp. The cardinal happening is to person everybody arsenic caller arsenic imaginable and acceptable to spell for the opener. That’s the No. 1 focus.”

Another free-agent signing for the Raiders was former Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker, who played with Dean astatine Georgia, and had precocious praise for the enslaved they share.

“For me, playing with Nakobe, this is simply a transportation that I person with him mode earlier we got to this level,” Walker said. “It is benignant of natural, I cognize what helium is thinking.

“We prime up good disconnected of 1 another; we provender disconnected of each different truly well. I cognize 1 time helium was successful present moving retired during OTAs, and I picked him up a small bit.”

Dean comes to the Raiders aft signaling 8.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and an interception implicit the people of 47 starts successful 4 seasons with the Eagles.

Kicking competition

After Raiders did not clasp Daniel Carlson this past offseason, the doorway was opened for a caller kicker to instrumentality implicit the high-leverage situations.

The Raiders signed former Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts kicker Matt Gay successful March.

The 32-year-old Gay has played 7 NFL seasons, appearing successful 12 games past season. His play started with the Washington Commanders, wherever helium dealt with a lingering backmost contented and was yet released owed to a drawstring of missed tract goals.

He past signed with the San Francisco 49ers, appeared successful 2 games, and was 4-for-4on his field-goal attempts.

However, erstwhile it seemed similar it would beryllium a one-man audition for the starting job, the Raiders believed they recovered a diamond successful the unsmooth successful Kansei Matsuzawa, better known arsenic “The Tokyo Toe.”

The undrafted escaped cause signed with the Raiders aft becoming a household sanction astatine the University of Hawaii, aft famously teaching himself to footwear disconnected of conscionable YouTube videos astatine 20 years old.

Matsuzawa tied an FBS grounds with 25 consecutive tract goals made successful a azygous play and besides became the archetypal statement All-American successful programme history.

“The bully happening astir having Matt, I’ve been with him before, and Matt’s truly helped Special K [Kansei Matsuzawa] rather a bit,” Raiders peculiar teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis said. “He’s done a bully occupation arsenic acold arsenic getting him squared distant with immoderate of his method and immoderate of that, which is large for an older feline to beryllium capable to do.

“The competition’s been good. Hopefully, we tin get Matt backmost connected the aforesaid level helium was connected erstwhile I had him successful LA, and I deliberation Special K is going to beryllium truly bully down the road, too.”

JPJ returns

After not participating successful squad drills connected the archetypal time of mandatory minicamp, violative lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson was a afloat subordinate Wednesday to reason the Raiders’ offseason program.

Powers-Johnson is acceptable to play a large relation connected the Raiders violative enactment alongside erstwhile Baltimore Ravens halfway Tyler Linderbaum.

Last season, Powers-Johnson was asked to determination astir the violative line, playing some halfway and defender astatine antithetic points of the year. Following the Linderbaum signing, helium volition present astir apt find stableness astatine the defender presumption successful his 2nd NFL season.

Linderbaum was brought into play successful some a enactment relation and fortifying a beforehand that allowed 64 sacks successful 2025, the astir successful the NFL.

Crosby remains out

After antecedently stating that he was “close” to returning, Raiders prima borderline rusher Maxx Crosby remained a non-participant successful signifier to adjacent retired mandatory minicamp. He did instrumentality portion successful warmups alongside his teammates, maintaining a regular beingness during OTAs and minicamp.