Intensity goes up as roster cuts loom
Few starters are expected to be in action Thursday
ALAMEDA >> James Cowser, a wise old NFL veteran of one year, was determined not to let the stress of making the Raiders roster act as a deterrent to the ultimate end game.
“It’s been a goal of mine going into the season to forget about the depth chart, forget about where I stand and just go out and get better every single day,” Cowser said Monday. “I focus on skills where I can get better and on being the best me … that’s how I’m going to be the happiest and the best player on the field.”
Cowser, the all-time FCS sacks leader out of Southern Utah, made the Raiders practice squad last year, was promoted to the 53-man roster and played in six games with one sack.
The Raiders held a quick prac-
tice out of view of the media and will practice again Tuesday during a condensed week that will find very few starters playing in a Thursday night exhibition game against the Seattle Seahawks at the Coliseum.
At some point Saturday, and it could be late into the night before the Raiders make it official, they’ll have cut the roster from 90 players to the NFL limit of 53.
“There are several things we want to clear up,” coach Jack Del Rio said. “This is the week where it’s typically a light load for a number of guys. We’ll get our last look at guys we have to make a decision on. That’s really what the last game ends up being about.”
Signed by Seattle as an undrafted free agent last year, Tyrell Adams was let go on the final cutdown day, spent some time on the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs and eventually found his way to the Raiders.
A smallish middle linebacker at 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, the Division II West Georgia product was promoted to the Raiders roster last Nov. 26 and played in six games on special teams.
Adams has been running behind Marquel Lee for most of training camp but has gotten some work occasionally with the first team.
“I took a couple of steps forward from my previous years, trying to give myself an opportunity to make the opening day roster,” Adams said. “I think I did pretty good.”
What Adams won’t do Thursday night is make that single game a one-man crusade.
“It’s kind of like just keep it in the moment and not trying to make one moment bigger than the next, try to take advantage of every opportunity I get,” Adams said.
Defensive tackle Treyvon Hester, a seventh-round pick who has little to worry about given he has provided some interior pass-rushing presence — an area where the Raiders need help — is nevertheless taking Del Rio’s instructions to heart.
“What coach Del Rio has been preaching to us is there’s a sense of urgency,” Hester said. “There’s definitely an emphasis on this one, one last time with these guys to show what I can do and my ability for this defense.”
Del Rio stressed that players aren’t simply trying out for the Raiders.
“You want to make the best impression you can for an opportunity here,” Del Rio said. “You also have 31 other teams that are going to evaluate the game tape and you’re making an impression around the league as well. It’s important to put your best foot forward. We’d love to see as many of them as possible be playing.”
• It’s been apparent in the last week or so first-round draft pick Gareon Conley has been making progress with athletic trainers from the shin injury that sidelined him for the better part of 10 weeks. With seven practices left before the start of the regular season on Sept. 10, NFL Media (Ian Rapoport) reported Monday the Raiders expect Conley to play in Week 1.
Conley has yet to be taken off the physically unable to perform list and wasn’t on the field for a brief walkthrough Monday night.
Asked if he expected to see Conley on the field Tuesday, Del Rio said, “When they give me the green light, I’ll go. I know he’s getting close. He’s doing a lot of running on the side. He’s getting close.”
• Del Rio remains upbeat about his defense despite seeing the first team struggle in the first halves of three games statistically, with four quarterbacks completing 76.2 percent of their passes.
“I feel really good about the work we put in. I think structure-wise and system-wise and technique and fundamental-wise … there’s been a lot of bright spots for us,” Del Rio said. “I know people want to look at numbers and specific things. For us, we’re looking at the development, the different packages and personnel and how we utilize them.
“I feel like we’ve made significant progress over the past several months.”
• For what it’s worth, the Raiders made their first depth-chart adjustments since the first one came out before the exhibition opener.
With Donald Penn re-inserted at left tackle, Marshall Newhouse is listed as co-first team along with Vadal Alexander.
At right cornerback, Sean Smith has been joined by TJ Carrie. Smith has been at the top of the depth chart all during camp even when Carrie was getting most of the first-team work.
Left cornerback David Amerson is in the NFL concussion protocol and will need to be cleared by an outside physician. Amerson was helped off the field after taking a blow to the head against Dallas.