Derek Carr gets chance to test out his leg at Raiders OTAs
QB shows no ill effects of injury; ex-Seahawk glad to be back on field
ALAMEDA — Derek Carr threw passes. Khalil Mack made an offensive lineman or two look silly. Marshawn Lynch, well, he smiled a lot.
The Raiders put the helmets on and performed as close as it gets to holding a real football practice in the month of May. This was their second of 10 sessions held during the third and final stage of organized team activities. Beyond these optional workouts, they’ll have a three-day minicamp in June to lay down the groundwork ahead of training camp in late July.
As the first of three practices open to the media, Tuesday offered the first glimpse of Carr on the field and running the offense since suffering his broken fibula on Christmas Eve that effectively ended any hopes the Raiders had at postseason glory.
“He’s healthy now,” wide receiver Amari Cooper said of Carr. “He looks great. He looks normal.”
And it was the first time to take a look at Lynch, the now un-retired running back who may not have spoken to the media but carried a boyish smile on his face, even through the mundane duties of pre-practice stretching. If Lynch’s actions are doing the talking, it’s clear that he’s having a blast getting ready to play for his hometown team.
“He’s excited to be a Raider,” coach Jack Del Rio said of the Oakland native. “We’re excited to have him.”
Lynch wasn’t a full participant in practice. He didn’t have the helmet he so giddily accepted upon signing with the Raiders nearly a month ago, although he did show off his hands by making a one-handed grab while going through some calisthenics. He and veterans Donald Penn and Sebastian Janikowski seemed to thoroughly enjoy being lined up next to each other during warm-ups.
“We used to always talk about playing with each other all the time, hanging out and stuff,” Penn said. “Now it’s finally happening. We’re just having fun out there, joking around. When Marshawn does talk, he’s a pretty funny guy.”
For Del Rio, the key to work this time of the year is simply getting any rookies and newcomers up to speed and finalizing any changes to their systems before training camp begins.
“It’s really building a base right now, trying to install our system in all three phases,” Del Rio said. “Trying to bring the young guys up to speed, the new veterans up to speed. Any tweaks that we’ve done with our system to make sure we tighten things up.”
First-round pick Gareon n Conley will have to earn his repetitions. The No. 24 overall selection was working with the third team on defense at outside corner along with getting some secondteam repetitions at nickel.
“We’re early in the competition, so we’ll just go through the offseason and continue to get him involved and get him reps,” Del Rio said. “These guys will ascend and take their positions as they earn it. We’re really happy with the way he’s started.”
Linebackers Jelani Jenkins, n Ben Heeney and Neiron Ball all worked on a side field. Jenkins and Heeney were together doing seemingly more advanced work while Ball, who hasn’t played since Week 6 of the 2015 season, was on another field.
Del Rio said that Jenkins did practice Monday during the first OTA, an indication that that’s when he suffered the undisclosed injury that limited him. Heeney, who had expected to be back by OTAs, is recovering from a torn deltoid ligament suffered in his right ankle in Week 3 of last season. Ball has been dealt a series of setbacks since suffering a knee injury in 2015. He even lost his jersey number last season to Tyrell Adams. Ball is now wearing No. 41.
With those three all out, Adams and second-year player Cory James worked with the first-team defense on Tuesday. Fifth-round pick Marquel Lee was alongside Xavier WoodsonLuster as the second-team linebackers.
Del Rio said he’s in n favor of the new NFL rule approved Tuesday that does away with the training camp roster cut to 75, which occurred after the third preseason game. Teams will now be able to keep 90 on their roster throughout the exhibition schedule and simply make one cut to 53 on the Saturday following the final preseason games.
“I think it’s a good move for our league,” Del Rio said. “That fourth game can be real difficult. I think for those young men that have fought their way through, I think a lot of those guys, you know at the end you’re making decisions on who you’re going to keep for your practice squad, who you’re going to keep at the end of your roster for your 53, I think it’s a healthy transition.”
He wasn’t as big a fan of the rule trimming overtime to 10 minutes. Had that been in place last season, the Raiders would’ve tied the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Instead, Seth Roberts caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from Carr with 1:45 to go and the Raiders won 30-24.
Beyond that, Del Rio believes rules should allow both teams to have at least one possession, unlike Super Bowl LI that ended when the New England Patriots scored a touchdown on the opening drive of overtime.