Raiders, Lions conclude 2 days of joint practices

NAPA – Other than a scrum early in practice that was quickly broken up, the Raiders and Detroit Lions appeared to wrap up two days of practice sessions Wednesday none the worse for wear.

During a team session, guard Jon Feliciano got into it with Detroit defensive end Anthony Zeitel, with Raiders Kelechi Osemele, James Stone and David Sharpe involved to some degree.

It was the closest practice got to getting out of control, which pleased coach Jon Gruden.

“I thought other than one incident early the teams did a great job showcasing professionalism and etiquette,” Gruden said. “I think we got a lot more out of these two days than we ever could have had we not done this.”

For veteran players, it was considerably more work than they’ll get Friday night in the preseason opener at the Coliseum.

“You saw Derek Carr vs. Matt Oakland Raiders fullback Ryan Yurachek takes part in a drill during Wednesday’s joint practice session with the Detroit Lions in Napa.

Stafford, blitz pickup, 9-on-7, the two-minute drill,” Gruden said. “It’s as close to the real deal as you’re going to get. You get a lot of work done and now you taper it off for the first-team guys, and you get a chance to really isolate who you want to see in the preseason game. I think it’s going to be real beneficial.”

Speaking of Carr vs. Stafford, the Detroit quarterback liked what he saw. Gruden is putting in more plays with Carr on the move in an attempt to utilize his athleticism.

“He’s extremely talented, mentally, physically, all of it,” Stafford said. “Super quick release. Very strong arm. Really athletic. People don’t give him enough credit for that ... he’s more athletic than me. He can run around pretty good.”

Stafford spent time following practice talking with Raiders quarterback coach Brian Callahan. Callahan was Stafford’s quarterbacks coach in Detroit in 2016-17.