Melifonwu off IR, seems ready to make debut

BRADENTON, Fla. — Raiders safety Obi Melifonwu is preparing to make his NFL debut Sunday at Miami, though he doesn’t yet know in what capacity.

Melifonwu, a second-round pick from Connecticut, is eligible to play after spending the first eight weeks of the season on injured reserve. He will rejoin an Oakland secondary that played at Buffalo without starting safety Karl Joseph and starting cornerback David Amerson.

The Raiders planned to use Melifonwu in “a big role” this season, head coach Jack Del Rio said. But the rangy safety dealt with ankle and knee injuries during preseason and landed on IR on Sept. 5.

Melifonwu returned to practice in Week 7, and Del Rio said Friday that the rookie had “shown that he needs some work.” The Raiders likely will work him in slowly on defense and special teams.

“We’ve had a couple good weeks to work him in and get him some looks and prepare him,” Del Rio said. “He’s physically ready to go. Mentally, as far as game conditioning and stuff — that will have to come.”

Melifonwu said after practice Tuesday that his debut has “definitely been a long time coming.”

“But honestly, I’m just focused on what I’ve got to do to help the team win this week,” he said. “Whatever that may be, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Oakland drafted the 6-foot-3, 224-pounder envisioning him as a player who could help them defend opposing tight ends, a defensive weakness in recent seasons. But to this point his only game action has consisted of 22 snaps in the third preseason game against Dallas.

Safety Reggie Nelson said he expects to see Melifonwu’s athleticism in play Sunday.

“Obi being Obi,” Nelson said. “Good athlete … High expectations from me, and I’m pretty sure it’s the same for everybody here that’s been saying the same things since training camp.” Lynch expected: Running back Marshawn Lynch, reinstated Monday from his NFL suspension, was not with the team for Tuesday’s walkthrough.

The walkthrough, though, is typically used to correct mistakes from the previous game. Lynch did not play in the Raiders’ 34-14 loss to Buffalo after the league suspended him one game for making contact with an official in Week 7.

Lynch was expected to arrive in Sarasota late Tuesday and practice on Wednesday. Nice digs: Several players lauded the facilities at the IMG Academy, where the Raiders are holding practices this week. It’s the same place the Raiders practiced last season while staying in Florida between games at Jacksonville and Tampa Bay. But IMG has added to its campus, including a new soccer facility where the team is lockering this week.

“It’s amazing,” Nelson said. “I mean, I wish my high school was like this.”

Safety Shalom Luani said he was impressed with the academy’s weight room. Luani grew up in American Samoa, where he said instead of weights he lifted bricks.

“We don’t have anything like this,” Luani said. “But I’m glad to be here, that’s all that matters.”