Del Rio praising rookie runners
late run at Ben Heeney.
“Yeah, we’ll see how that plays out,” Del Rio said. “We’re developing a good young player there in Cory. You saw Ben last year come on and play well as the year went on, and he got opportunities. I think both guys are guys we’ll count on to play a good amount for us this year.”
Del Rio said he is excited about quarterback Derek Carr’s command of the offense and his team’s “good work ethic.”
“We’ve given (Carr) more freedom in the offense, and he’s really taken that and done a great job with it,” Del Rio said. “He’s super prepared, and the timing on some of the throws and the decision-making — I’m just very pleased with that.”
The coach is downright giddy that the team has found not one, but two promising backup running backs in rookies DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard.
“They’re built similarly in that they’re not huge guys,” Del Rio said. “I had a guy that was pretty good in Jacksonville named Maurice Jones-Drew . ... He was a dynamic guy that could give you some tremendous impact.
“I’m not putting that label necessarily on these guys, I’m just saying it doesn’t matter the stature as much as it does the skill level. … In terms of the explosive playmaking ability, you see some of that in both these young men.”
Anthem opinions: Del Rio and Carr were both asked about 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick not standing for the national anthem Friday, and had similar responses.
“I’ll always stand and respect it,” Carr said. “If he wants to do it a certain way, he has that right to choose what he wants to do. Whether people agree or not, he doesn’t care. He’s standing up for something he believes in.” Cuts: The Raiders waived 14 players and placed tight end Gabe Holmes on injured reserve to trim their roster to 75. Defensive tackle Leon Orr, who played in three games last season, was the biggest name, if you don’t count tight end Colton Underwood, who became known when he successfully asked Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman for a date over the Internet.
Also cut were receivers Max McCaffrey (brother of Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey), Joe Hansley and Nathan Palmer, center Ross Burbank, long snapper Andrew East, safeties Chris Edwards, Chris Hackett and Jimmy Hall, defensive back Tramain Jacobs, linebacker Lenny Jones, kicker Giorgio Tavecchio and guard Terran Vaughn.