Raiders balance Vegas move with COVID-19 pandemic
LAS VEGAS — Dealing with an offseason move to Las Vegas, an overhaul of his defence and contending in a division with Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs is a tough enough task for Raiders coach Jon Gruden.
It all pales in comparison to trying to keep his players safe from COVID-19 in a city where the coronavirus is spreading.
“One mistake can bring us all down in a real bad way,” Gruden said Thursday. “It’s not just becoming to football; it can create a terrible illness. So I want to dominate when we leave the building. We want to crush this virus. We want to beat this virus into the ground, and I can use those words because it’s not on our schedule but it is an opponent that we have not been able to beat. It can really break you down physically. I know a lot of people that have had it and have it, and it’s an awful thing and we don’t want to have anything to do with it but beat it.”
The Raiders have weathered the issues fairly well so far. No players have decided to opt out of the season for safety reasons and backup running back Devontae Booker is the only player placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list after the first round of testing for rookies and veterans.
Gruden said the message has been sent that players will be evaluated as much for how they conduct themselves off the field to stay out of dangerous situations as for how they do on the practice field.
“We take full responsibility and accountability in each other,” rookie receiver Henry Ruggs III said. “We know that we’re all safe if we’re around each other and at home. So pretty much we’re just trying to keep that circle. That way we can stay on the football side and keep learning.”
While all teams are dealing with many of these issues, the Raiders have particular challenges because of their relocation.
They had planned to spend the off-season still in the Bay Area and then hold training camp as usual in California’s wine country.
Players also would have had time to figure out their plans for the move to Las Vegas. But the offseason program got cancelled and Gruden and his staff weren’t allowed in the team’s new facility in Nevada until late June.
Several players led by quarterback Derek Carr led informal off-season workouts in the Las Vegas area but many of the players didn’t move into their new homes until more recently.
“We are not the lone ranger,” he said. “Everybody in the league is going through this. We have to do the best we can. It’s not going to be the most equitable, fairest season. Some teams are going to be hit hard by this virus, some teams might not. Some teams might have fans, some teams might have cardboard cutouts. I don’t know but we just got to deal with it. We got to try to be creative.”
Now the team’s fancy new stadium might not be able to have any fans for its first season.
“It’s just been hard,” Gruden said. “I’m worried about my kids, my mom and dad, my family, my brothers, my friends and I’m worried about all our players.”