The Oakland Raiders have OTA workouts and minicamp coming up and starting quarterback Derek Carr could miss time with a hand injury and if that happens, expect Christian Ponder and Matt McGloin to split time with the first team with reps and this comes as players like Latavius Murray, Clive Walford, Amari Cooper and Trent Richardson are looking to start fast for the Raiders this season.
Carr is coming in after a solid rookie season, but he may be out for mandatory minicamp with a hand injury. According to CSN Bay Area, Carr was considering surgery on his hand after dealing with some numbness in his finger, but the website now reports that Carr is "not" going through with surgery. Carr's agent came out to say that Carr is not looking to have surgery and that he will be ready for training camp this summer.
Any time missed this offseason is tough for Carr, as the Raiders have a new head coach in Jack Del Rio and players will want to get up to speed with the new system. Cooper, Walford and Andre Debose are all looking to continue as rookies on offense and this comes as players like Richardson and Latavius Murray are fighting for starting jobs. CSN reports that Carr should be back throwing "well before training camp" starts, but that minicamp is likely not an option.
The Raiders signed Ponder in the offseason and McGloin has some experience starting from the year before Carr was taken in the draft. McGloin and Ponder will be competing for the backup job and how they perform here in OTAs and minicamp could decide that battle. Carr should be fine for training camp and by then the team could decide his top backup.
ESPN and NFL.com project Mychal Rivera to be the starter at tight end, but Bill Williamson adds that the Raiders like Clive Walford and may use sets with two tight ends this season. NFL.com writes that the team sees Walford as a "complete tight end" and that he has a leg up on blocking over Rivera and has strong size at 6-foot-4, 251-pounds coming out of Miami last season.
The wide receiver position has some depth with Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree the likely starters over Andre Holmes, Rod Streater and Kenbrell Thompkins. The team also has Debose, Kenbrell Thompkins, Brice Butler and Seth Roberts and that could lead to some players getting cut through training camp. Cooper is penciled in as the number one after being the fourth overall pick in the draft and scoring 16 touchdowns on 124 catches for Alabama last season.
The Raiders have some other players and positions battles to watch coming into camp, as Nate Allen and Malcolm Smith come in as new free agents that could push to start. Sio Moore had a solid season last year, but Smith could get into the starting lineup, while Allen likely will line up alongside Charles Woodson for Del Rio on defense. Mario Edwards was taken in the second round and the Raiders expect him to be a factor alongside Khalil Mack, who had a great rookie season.
