The Raiders weekly series will recap the biggest stories from the week. Additionally, we will focus on what happens outside the lines leading up to Sunday. Meanwhile, Week 0 is upon us. What is Week 0? It is the week separating the preseason from the regular season.
Kirk Cousins is QB1
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak named Cousins the Week 1 starter against the Miami Dolphins. Cousins has demonstrated the most amount of NFL polish despite a strong push from number one overall draft pick Fernando
Mendoza. He has been the more consistent quarterback over the summer and has not committed any turnovers.
Raiders get $75m for stadium upgrades
One of the things missing from Allegiant Stadium that was beloved in the Oakland Alameda Coliseum was the catwalk from the Coliseum BART station. The catwalk served a great many purposes in both accessibility, live music and the unlicensed marketplace.
What this upgrade will do is essentially bridge a better pedestrian connection to the Las Vegas Strip. Provide a better access point for ride sharing services and an exterior venue.
Raiders tryout 16 players
If you aren’t trying to compete every day, you aren’t trying to get better. The Raiders had 16 players in for a tryout on Thursday; not resting on his laurels, general manager John Spytek made one of the biggest low-risk and high reward moves of the season. He also countered placing Keyron Crawford on the injured reserve list by getting some more help on the edge.
Ronnie Bell, Azeez Ojulari and former first-round pick Evan Neal were signed to the practice squad. The corresponding cuts were Albert Okwuegbunam Jr, Jahfari Harvey and Kamar Missouri.
Neal, a former national champion at the University of Alabama and the 2022 number seven overall draft pick. Has the size to play tackle but the lateral quickness of a guard at the NFL level. However, Raiders offensive line coach Rick Dennison could be just the coach he needs to fix his mistakes and help him realize his full potential.
Ojulari was teammates with Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean at the University of Georgia. Ojulari was a 2021 second-round pick who also found himself starting his career with the New York Giants’ sunken ship. Reuniting with his teammates should be a welcome change of scenery and bring more elite athleticism to a defense that needs it.
Bell is a receiver who couldn’t quite catch on with the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints outside of special teams and a preseason role.
