Las Vegas Raiders tight ends Alex Ellis (81) and Darren Waller (83) run a drill during Raiders Training Camp at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center in Henderson Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021.
Friday, Aug. 20, 2021 | 2 a.m.
Raiders coach Jon Gruden stayed cagey earlier this week regarding what he hoped to gain out of a pair of joint practices with the Rams in Los Angeles. He was more definitive about what he didn’t want — no pushing, shoving or fighting.
Famous last words.
Las Vegas called off the second of two practices Thursday afternoon in Thousand Oaks, Calif., early after a brawl reportedly broke out between the two teams.
“That’s enough of that crap,” Gruden said afterward in a news conference streamed by the team. “That’s not good for football. That’s not good for anything, so that was the end of that practice session.”
Gruden slightly downplayed Thursday’s incident later by saying the actual fight was just “two guys in a special teams period,” but several reports from the practice indicated it was a bit more serious. The Athletic reported that two players Gruden had recently praised as leaders of the defense, edge rushers Yannick Ngakoue and Maxx Crosby, were among the many who threw punches.
The Raiders’ players also interpreted the situation differently than Gruden, with running back Josh Jacobs tweeting “love this team” after practice. He confirmed that the message was in reference to the skirmish.
“It was definitely about how the whole situation was handled,” Jacobs said. “If you look at our guys and you see how we handled, and you see their guys and how they just let some things happen. I like the fact that our team has the fighting spirit, and not only that, but had each other’s backs.”
All the conflict should make for an interesting backdrop for the teams’ preseason game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium. Even if most of the back-and-forth came during special teams, those are the players who will be on the field the most for both teams’ second exhibition game.
With established standouts on both sides, the Raiders and Rams are both expected to sit the majority of starters and give playing time to those battling for roster spots.
NFL teams’ rosters must be reduced from 85 to 80 players by Tuesday, Aug. 24, before final cuts come a week later to get to the official 53-man rosters.
“I love the fighting,” quarterback Derek Carr said after Wednesday’s practice where the chippiness started. “I’m kind of like (my college coach) Pat Hill. If we were fighting, Coach Hill wouldn’t blow his whistle for a few seconds. Like that’s how he was in college, but I think it’s good for your team to fight a little bit. Everyone is tired at this point in camp, especially when you are going against somebody in a different jersey. A lot of guys out there are trying to make a team. You saw I think a lot of fights on special teams. Well there is a reason a lot of the fights came on special teams — they are fighting for a job literally. So, that stuff is going to happen, but it doesn’t bother me as long as no one gets hurt.”
The Raiders did reportedly have two starters limp off the field in Thursday’s practice, guard Richie Incognito and linebacker Nicholas Morrow, but their injuries weren’t related to the brawl. Gruden shared no update on either player’s status.
It wasn’t all bad news on the injury front, as tight end Darren Waller was back for the practices after missing most of training camp with an undisclosed but minor injury. Waller said he hated missing multiple practices after having only been absent a couple times over the last two seasons, but realized rest could also be beneficial.
“Very competitive energy,” Waller described the practices against the Rams. “Lot of egos going on out there so it gets real chippy but there were a lot of good competitive reps the last couple days before everything went down today.”
By all accounts, the Raiders more than held their own against the Rams — unlike two years ago when the two franchises practiced while the former was featured on Hard Knocks. On Wednesday, the defense reportedly intercepted three passes by Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
An offensive highlight included slot receiver Hunter Renfrow burning Rams All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who took to Twitter to defend himself. Las Vegas felt like it was off to another good start against one of the teams favored to win this year’s Super Bowl on Thursday before Gruden called off practice.
“We had it in our mind that we were going to come in and be the team,” Jacobs said.
Saturday’s preseason game might be tame compared with the practices. Gruden has hinted he doesn’t want to put too much on film and was freer with opening his playbook in the joint practices where limited cameras and filming were allowed.
He said the team “got a lot” out of the practices even if he was disappointed in how they concluded.
“It was a lot of trash-talking that escalated,” Gruden said. “It’s just sickening really. It’s just stupidity. I’m done with that. It’s child’s play to me.”
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
