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Raiders Hope To Impress In Final Bay Area Season
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Oakland’s offensive line hopes to keep quarterback Derek Carr upright and make lanes for the backs. Shown are Trent Brown, Justin Murray and tight end Darren Waller.

What an offseason for the Oakland Raiders. They brought in big names this offseason: Antonio Brown, Richie Incognito, Vontaze Burfict and Johnathan Abram, just to name a few. The team was the focus of the weekly HBO documentary Hard Knocks: Inside Training Camp with the Oakland Raiders. The HBO crew did not run low on material as they had a field day with the Antonio Brown frost bite on his feet and helmet saga.

Setting all that aside, the team on the field looks to be focused and ready for their week one matchup with the AFC West rival Denver Broncos. The game is scheduled for Monday night, Sept. 9 as the second game on ESPN Monday Night Football that evening. Oakland finished the preseason with an impressive 3-1 record. They appear to have depth in positions that in years past, they lacked.

Starting in the quarterback position Derek Carr enters his sixth season and has weapons around him. With the addition of Brown, the quarterback will also have speedy receivers Tyrell Williams and J.J. Nelson at his disposal. The offensive line beefed up with Incognito, Jonathan Cooper, Kolton Miller, Rodney Hudson and Trent Brown. In the backfield, rookie Josh Jacobs is listed as the starting running back and will have DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard serve as backups. Veterans Doug Martin and Isaiah Crowell both landed on the IR to start the season.

One of the most interesting preseason battles the Raiders had going was who would be the backup to Carr. The competition was between journeyman Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman. Both quarterbacks shined in the preseason and both made the team’s final 53-man roster. Unfortunately for Peterman he suffered a small tear in a non-supporting ligament in his elbow. This landed him on the IR Monday afternoon. This opened up the door for the Raiders to claim former Packers quarterback DeShone Kizer.

Saturday saw the departure of popular rookie Keelan Doss as he was cut from the team. Doss shined in preseason and was a focus on Hard Knocks. The speedy receiver from UC Davis was offered a spot on the team’s practice squad but instead signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Other notable cuts from the weekend were guard Denver Kirkland, running back James Butler and cornerback Nick Nelson.

Oakland finished 4-12 overall and were fourth in the AFC West last season.