Bryant quiet about reports of suspension
ALAMEDA, Calif. — On Monday, Martavis Bryant kept true to his routine.
The Raiders opened their regular season around 7:25 p.m. at the Oakland-alameda County Coliseum against the Los Angeles Rams. Geographically, Bryant was nearby, but his thoughts weren’t. At least, he tried to avoid thinking about a franchise that cut him nine days earlier. He didn’t watch the 33-13 loss. ”When I got suspended two years ago,” Bryant said Thursday, ‘I told guys, ‘When I’m away from foot- ball, I try to take myself away from it, so I don’t get distracted or overly frustrated with myself, end up doing something stupid.’ ”
Bryant can embrace the game now. On Tuesday, he returned to the Raiders’ facility and agreed to a one-year contract. On Wednesday, he practiced for the first time since he was cut. Bryant made Thursday his first public comments since his introductory news conference on April 27.
He admitted he was “very surprised” when the team cut him.
Beyond that, his focus is on football, not the side story.
What started in June as concern among people inside the Raiders’ organization about Bryant’s league standing — they feared the NFL was preparing a suspension for an alleged violation of its substance abuse policy — loomed into July and August. Matters of player discipline can take time. An appeal is part of that process. Here in September, he remains eligible for competition.
Bryant declined to discuss his status.
He said that he wasn’t irked by the initial report in June or those that have followed. On Sunday, ESPN reported that Bryant faces a year-long suspension.
“I don’t know nothing about none of that,” Bryant said. “All I’m here to do is play football. As far as that stuff, I’m going to let that process take care of itself. … (The reports are) not bugging me. I don’t have control over any of that. I don’t want to really discuss that right now.”
Indeed, Bryant is here now. The Raiders are glad for it.
While he did not watch Monday’s game, his absence was visible.
Wide receiver Amari Cooper was the closest thing to a vertical threat the Raiders had Monday. His route tree, however, is much more diverse than that. There were no deep attempts in his direction.
Bryant is better suited to run more of such routes.
“Fast player. Deep threat,” Cooper said. “Going to really take the top off of defenses, so we’re excited about that. He’s a guy who is really going to help open things up for us.”
Notable
Rookie defensive tackle P.J. Hall (ankle) was the only Raiders player to miss Thursday’s practice. He is not expected to play Sunday, although his official status will be announced Friday afternoon.
Running back Marshawn Lynch (shoulder), center Rodney Hudson (ankle) and wide receiver Brandon Lafell (back) were upgraded to full participation. Five others were limited in practice for a second straight day: right guard Gabe Jackson (pec), running back Deandre Washington (knee), punter Johnny Townsend (right quad), wide receiver Dwayne Harris (foot) and defensive tackle Brian Price (hamstring).
Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Gehlkennfl on Twitter.
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Derek Carr noticed an empty patch of grass and baseball-dirt infield where the Los Angeles Rams’ defense wasn’t. And so, before attempting the first pass of the season, he adjusted the play at the line of scrimmage, amending tight end Jared Cook’s route to a slant versus a linebacker.
Cook caught the pass, sprinted for 45 yards and was off to the record book.
Another record book.
Cook set a franchise record in Monday’s 33-13 loss at the Oakland-alameda County Coliseum, stringing together explosive plays on a joint-use surface en route to a career-high 180 yards. The receiving total is a new mark for a Raiders tight end. What’s more: Cook now owns the single-game receiving record by a tight end for three NFL franchises.
Cook owns the Rams’ and Tennessee Titans’ all-time marks, too.
For the Titans on Christmas Eve in 2011, Cook caught eight passes for 169yardsandatouchdownagainst the Jacksonville Jaguars. For the Rams on Sept. 8, 2013, Cook totaled seven receptions for 141 yards and twotouchdownsagainstthearizona Cardinals. Both records still stand.
“Iwouldn’twanttoplaywithany other tight end; that’s for … sure,” tight end Lee Smith said Monday evening. “That speaks for itself right there. The guy makes my life easy. I can just go out there and do the dirty work while he just shreds people. The guy is a freak show. The guy is 6-foot-5. What is it, ‘Megatron’? That’s who Jared is. He just so happens to play tight end instead of receiver.
“There’s no way to cover him. If your question is why a guy like that has bounced around, it beats me. But I’m sure as hell glad he is because now he’s setting records here instead of setting records in Nashville or L.A.”
Cook’s performance was a bright spot for the offense.
The Raiders had four plays that into the season, he fractured his back against the Denver Broncos and was expected to be out two to six weeks. Carr only missed one game.
First-year offensive coordinator Todd Downing was made the scapegoat for the Raiders’ struggles in the vertical game.
The excuses aren’t there anymore, and Raider Nation is starting to lose patience with its franchise quarterback after a nightmare performance in the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.
“Dude, all you did was dink and dunk again, just like last year,” Jared Skaggs said about Carr in a Facebook comment. “You blew it, lost us the game. You’re not the same player anymore. Your confidence is gone.
You panic right when you feel pressure now. … You got paid and now you’re struggling. I’m sorry, but you’re not our future anymore.”
It’s WAY too soon to give up on Carr, but his struggles with the deep
gained more than 17 yards. All were connections between Carr and Cook, those chunks good for 45, 32, 28 and 27 yards. That final one came with 54 seconds remaining in the game. It pushed Cook past the previous franchise mark of 173 yards, set by Todd Christensen against the San Diego Chargers on Nov. 20, 1986.
Cook, 31, was born about five months later.
The team had a sense Cook could be in for a productive evening. Mark Barron, an athletic Rams linebacker, was inactive after an ankle injury sidelined him throughout the practice week.
Los Angeles also made a point to contain wide receivers Amari Cooper and Jordy Nelson on the outside. Ultimately, Cooper had one catch on three targets for 9 yards. Nelson led all Raiders wide receivers with three catches on four targets for 23 yards.
Of Carr’s 303 passing yards, 260 were to a tight end or running back. Running back Jalen Richard caught nine of 11 passes for 55 yards. Cook converted nine of his 12 targets for the 180.
“They really wanted to take both wideouts out,” Carr said. “Not only did they have Peters and Talib on (Cooper and Nelson), but most of the time they were doubling them also with the safety. Kind of like a little box deal – trying to keep them into a little thing. That’s why Jared had a big game.
“We had no problem seeing what they were doing, obviously. It’s not an indication of Amari or anything like that. If the coverage looks a certain way during a certain play, we have other options.”
It all amounted into a historic game from Cook.
Yet again.
Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Gehlkennfl on Twitter.