RAIDERS REPORT
Schedule
All practices at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, unless noted:
■ Thursday — Practice, 11:30 a.m. ■ Friday — Practice, 11:30 a.m. ■ Saturday — Off
■ Sunday — at New York
Giants, Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, 10 a.m.
Quote of the day
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and interim coach Rich Bisaccia made sure to be clear that their thoughts were with the deceased victim in the Henry Ruggs crash and her family.
But they’re also still processing that Ruggs is a former member of the organization and the career of a blossoming young star all but ended Tuesday morning.
It’s part of a whirlwind of emotions those inside the Raiders’ facility have been going through as they process the senseless tragedy.
“I walked by, and I saw Henry’s locker today, and for whatever reason that got me,” Carr said after practice. “He’s not going to be there.”
Neither Carr nor Bisaccia had been in contact with Ruggs. Bisaccia said he would keep private what he plans to say if and when he speaks to him.
Carr said he wasn’t sure whether he could speak to Ruggs yet but sounds as if he plans to do so at some point.
“I will always be here for him,” Carr said. “That won’t change.”
Injury report
The Raiders got good news on the field Wednesday as the entire active roster practiced in full.
Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (neck) and guard John Simpson (knee) were the only players listed on the shortest injury report of the season, but both got in a full session.
The bye week worked wonders for the health of a team that has been ravaged by injuries for much of the season.
“We’re clean today,” Bisaccia said. “I was pretty fired up about that.”
Star tight end Darren Waller missed the game against Philadelphia with an ankle injury, but he was on the practice field and wasn’t mentioned on the injury report.
Transactions
After Ruggs was released Tuesday night, the Raiders were left with 50 players on the active roster.
One of the three open spots was filled Wednesday with the addition of linebacker Marquel Lee to the active roster. Lee was a fifth-round draft pick of the Raiders in 2017 and was with the organization until he was released with an injury designation before the start of the 2020 season.
He spent this offseason with the Bills and has been on the practice squad and active roster for the Raiders over the past two months.
Reserve quarterback Nathan Peterman also was brought back to the practice squad Wednesday after clearing waivers. He was released from the active roster Tuesday.
Wide receiver Marcell Ateman also was brought back to the practice squad. Offensive lineman Dan Skipper was released from the practice squad to make space.
Managing the process
Bisaccia and other team officials gathered the players for a Zoom meeting around 4 p.m. Tuesday to inform them of the details they knew about the Ruggs’ crash, especially with all the false rumors on social media.
The players assembled again for a team meeting early Wednesday, hours after the decision was made to release Ruggs.
“We addressed some of the new information that came out, which we thought would all come out at (Ruggs’ hearing), which I think has now,” Bisaccia said. “So they got a chance to see that, and then we just talked about what our charge is going forward, individually and then collectively.”
He said the key is to make sure everyone is on the same page each step of the way as the organization tries to navigate these trying times one step at a time.
Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-journal