Opposing tight ends feasting

An old nemesis, the opposing tight end, popped its head out in Monday night’s game, as the Raiders gave up 10 catches for 128 yards to Houston Texans playing that position. On Sunday, Oakland will try not to lay out the red carpet for Carolina’s Greg Olsen.

Olsen is the leading pass-catcher among tight ends in the NFL with 54 catches for 745 yards and three touchdowns.

“Olsen is one of the most athletic tight ends in the league,” Raiders safety Karl Joseph said. “He runs great routes and has great hands. They’re going to target him, so we’re going to have to do a good job of taking him out of the game.”

Since 2013, the 6-foot-5, 255-pound Olsen has led NFL tight ends in receptions (288) and yards (3,673), with 22 touchdowns.

“Greg has great feet and knows how to create separation at the top of his route,” Oakland linebacker Malcolm Smith said. “We have our hands full. We just have to compete.”

The Raiders had done a better job the previous three games, allowing tight ends only a combined 98 yards on 11 catches. On the year, they’re seventh-worst in the NFL, allowing tight ends 651 yards (and five touchdowns) on 51 catches.

“The tight ends in this league are pretty good,” defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. said. “They’re catching balls not just on us (but) on a lot of people. You bring up the times that they catch the ball, but there are times that they don’t catch the ball. Malcolm had a good interception on one of them (Monday).

“Tight ends of the old days, with the big, slow guys, are over.” Cam Cook: Third-string quarterback Connor Cook did his part this week to help the Raiders prepare for Carolina quarterback Cam Newton. At least Cook looked the part, wearing No. 1 with his compression shorts showing under his pulled-up shorts, along with wrist bands and shin guards.

“It’s kind of been like a running theme throughout the whole season,” Cook said. “When we played San Diego, I did the eye black, I changed helmets, I had the same face mask as Philip Rivers, I had the glove, the sweat bands. … (Derek Carr has) been on me about that the whole year.”

Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said the size disparity was glaring, as Cook is 6-foot-4 and 217 pounds while Newton goes 6-5, 245.

“Not nearly as big as Cam,” Musgrave said. “He’s getting in the weight room and working on that.” Moves: The Raiders added practice-squad linebackers James Cowser and Tyrell Adams to the active roster and waived tackle Matt McCants and tight end Ryan O’Malley on Saturday.