Incognito prepared to step in at center
ALAMEDA >> There was a new twist Wednesday to the musical chairs nature of the Raiders’ offensive line.
With both Rodney Hudson and Andre James out with ankle injuries and newly-signed Erik Magnuson just getting up to speed, left guard Richie Incognito worked at center during practice.
“I last played center in 2010, a little emergency duty for Miami,” Incognito said following practice. “It’s been awhile.”
Hudson was at the Raiders’ facility and was spotted walking without a limp from the locker room to the performance center. But he isn’t expected to play against the Detroit Lions on Sunday at the Coliseum. James, the rookie who took over after Hudson departed 10 snaps into a 2724 loss to Houston, played well, but he has an ankle injury and also didn’t practice. He said he expects to be good to go, a standard response whether a player can go or not.
So Incognito is the next option, with Magnuson as a possible backup and Denzelle Good moving in to play at left guard. Good started on the right side when Gabe Jackson was sidelined with an MCL strain.
“Incognito could be the center,” coach Jon Gruden said. “He’s a great player.”
Incognito said that after Hud
son went down, he went to the sideline in Houston for a few practice shotgun snaps to Mike Glennon in case of an emergency. He worked at the position Wednesday.
As opposed to minding his own business, Incognito as a center is in everyone’s business, making sure blocking assignments are covered.
“Center is a lot more cerebral,” Incognito said. “You’re coming up, you’re trying to be clear with the point so everybody else can get lined up. At guard you’re kind of just waiting for the center to make that point and be physical and run off the ball. At center you’ve got a lot going on pre-snap.”
At 36, Incognito said it was “fun” to take on a new challenge and didn’t seem the least big concerned.
“It’s something that is second nature to me and I embrace the challenge and I’ll hold down the position until one of those guys comes back,” Incognito said.
• Magnuson, who played with the 49ers in 2017 and 2018, said there were some similarities in the systems of Kyle Shanahan and Gruden, but conceded he had a lot of catching up to do overall.
“It was a lot of information crammed in to one morning,” Magnuson said. “It’s similar to offenses I’ve run in the past, with the 49ers and Michigan. I’m picking things up, it’s coming back to me a little bit.”
Magnuson, who was on Buffalo’s practice squad, was given “words of wisdom” from ex-Raiders Lee Smith and Jon Feliciano, as well as assistant coach Bobby Johnson. He was reunited with wide receiver Zay Jones, who was traded from Buffalo to the Raiders.
He also wanted to clear up any misconceptions about the nickname he received with the 49ers.
“I was in an offensive line room where I was making the least amount of money and playing the most positions, so (Jimmy Garoppolo) started calling me ‘Money Bags Mags,’” Magnuson said. “But it has no reflection of my actual financial well-being.”
• Linebacker Brandon Marshall was back with the Raiders after being released in training camp, and was getting back into the flow along with fellow linebacker Will Compton. It remains to be seen whether either player will see action against Detroit, although it’s worth noting that Tahir Whitehead was limited in practice with wrist and shoulder injuries.
“We’ll try to bring ‘em both up to speed, and special teams is a big part of this,” Gruden said. “We’ll try to get ‘em both ready to play.”
Given that one of the reasons Marshall departed was because he wasn’t going to be used on special teams, he is the more likely of the two to get work at linebacker. Gruden said he’d have a better idea where Marshall stood after today’s practice.
“Today’s practice wasn’t a true gauge. We use Wednesdays a little differently than maybe other teams. We try to get a lot more reps at less speed, we try to teach the game plan, let the guys mater the game plan, and then on Thursday, we get the pads back on and get our guys flying around on Thursday and Friday. The big thing is getting (Marshall) re-acclimated to the system.”
• Gruden couldn’t resist another dig at the NFL for a schedule which saw the Raiders away from home from Sept. 15 to Nov. 2.
“I hope they do it to everyone in our division next year,” Gruden said. “I think every team should have an opportunity to go on the road for six weeks. Somebody had a great idea for us to do it. I think everybody ought to do it next year.”
He then dropped the humor for a more realistic take.
“It was tough because they weren’t close trips,” Gruden said. “They were overseas trips, they were across-the-country trips, every one of ’em. But it’s allowed our team to bond and spend some time together, we benefited from it and I was proud of our guys they way they competed. Just a little sarcasm, having a little fun.”
• If the Raiders were beaten down by the road trips, you’d be hard-pressed to notice it. Players in the locker room were giving each other a hard time and seemed to be enjoying themselves, something you didn’t see often starting at this point a year ago.
“We know we have a good team,” Carr said. “We just have to put it all together. All three phases every game, be efficient, be clean, eliminate the penalties, if we can do that we feel we can play with anybody. Right now we’ve got to take care of business this weekend and try and get a home win against a good team.”
At 3-4, Gruden isn’t about to talk about the standings or playoff picture, but he likes what he sees in general.
“We feel like we’re pretty good, we feel like we’re getting better,” Gruden said. “That’s all we can control. We would have liked to have the last win, but there are a lot of teams in this league right now that are just hanging on. It’s a tough business.”
• Terrell McClain, the defensive tackle added to the roster at the expense of veteran Corey Liuget, “was a really good one-gap player with the Cowboys in 2016. We think he fits the 4-3. Corey just had some lingering bouts with his health and we needed one more big body in here that perhaps can help us.”
• Others who didn’t participate in practice Wednesday were defensive end Josh Mauro (groin) and wide receiver/return specialist Dwayne Harris (ankle). Whitehead, running back Josh Jacobs (shoulder) and wide receiver Tyrell Williams (heel) were limited, while Trent Brown (calf) and Jackson (knee) participated fully.