Gruden isn’t ruling out Conley vs. K.C.
ALAMEDA >> Gareon Conley, who injured his neck in Monday night’s 24-16 win over the Denver Broncos, is doing well enough that coach Jon Gruden isn’t ruling him out of playing in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Happy to see that Gareon Conley seems to be doing OK,” Gruden said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “I think there’s a chance he might be able to play this week, but we’ll have to update his status tomorrow.”
The Raiders did not specify the exact nature of Conley’s injury, but Conley updated the fan base on Twitter. In it, Conley thanked fans for their concern, said his neck was injured, and that proper protocol was followed.
The news wasn’t so good on safety Johnathan Abram.
Abram hurt his shoulder Monday, and there is a possibility he could be placed on injured reserve, which at a minimum would wipe out half of his rookie season. FORMER RAIDER DIES >> Neiron Ball, a former Raiders linebacker who had been in a coma since December of 2018 as the result of a rare congenital brain condition, has died, the family announced. He was 27.
“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Neiron Ball on September 10, 2019 at 4:15 am. The Ball family is forever grateful for the prayers, donations, and immense support of Neiron and his recovery. Neiron was a very special and loving father, brother, and teammate. Neiron has transitioned to a place of peace,” wrote Ball’s sister Natalie Myricks in a Facebook post.
Ball was stricken by an arterviouvenous malformation in 2011 while at Florida. It’s a condition which causes blood vessels to tangle and rupture. He recovered to play, and also battled back from a serious knee injury that required microfracture knee surgery to become a fifth-round draft pick by the Raiders.
He played six games in 2015, his rookie year, starting twice and recording a sack against the Cleveland Browns.
Ball also made an impact off the field. In his year with the Raiders, Ball connected with a Pleasanton boy who also suffered an AVM, as well as his family.
Physicians thought Ball’s rare condition had been corrected after a radiation treatment, but he suffered an episode a year ago that left him in a medically induced coma.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS >> Josh Jacobs wasn’t the only Raiders rookie who had a promising NFL debut.
The Raiders running back and first-round draft pick got rave reviews for his performance in a 24-16 win over the Denver Broncos, but was just one of 11 rookies who contributed to varying degrees.
Only one of the 12 rookies on the 53-man roster — wide receiver Keelan Doss — was inactive. Doss was officially added to the roster Monday after being signed off the practice squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Those besides Jacobs who played on offense were tight end Foster Moreau, fullback Alec Ingold and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow. On defense, defensive end Clelin Ferrell and safety Abram were starters and joined by defensive end Maxx Crosby and cornerback Trayvon Mullen. Those who played exclusively on special teams were punter A.J. Cole, cornerback Keisean Nixon and offensive lineman Andre James.
”We don’t have to taper anything back with these guys,” Gruden said. “We’re playing a bunch of rookies and Derek’s (Carr) doing a lot at the line of scrimmage. It doesn’t bother Moreau, it doesn’t bother Jacobs, it doesn’t bother Renfrow, any of these guys at all.” HITTING THE CENTURY MARK >> Gruden said he was unaware the win over Denver was the 100th regular-season win of his career until he was given a game ball after the game.
“I was thinking about walking off and going back to Hooters and retiring,” Gruden joked. “That would have been a good walk-off. It’s a heck of a tough league to win a game in. To accomplish that I credit all the coaches I’ve worked with, all the players and certainly it’s a special moment, but to share it with the guys that we have in the locker room was really cool.”
Gruden’s career record is 100-93 in the regular season.
• Linebacker Vontaze Burfict came out of the game “nicked up,” according to Gruden, but is expected to face the Chiefs.