Recapping first practice of next phase of Raiders training camp: A new chapter begins

It wasn’t the first day I woke up and headed to the Raiders’ facility in Henderson. To be specific, it was the fourth day. The first came last Friday, to receive the first of many COVID-19 tests. Then there was another on Monday and another on Tuesday. Such is the protocol for all players, coaches, staff, and media who enter the Raiders facility.

Those nose swabs happen in a mobile unit just outside the facility. Cleared of the virus from those initial tests, today was the first day any of us would be actually entering the building.

It’s somewhat early in the morning — at least for me, and early for camp practices in previous years — presumably to get the work in before the temperatures hit triple digits (which is will every day this week).

We enter the media room at 7 a.m., and after a brief time to set up, it was time to head to the indoor field.

The door opens to a massive indoor complex, the likes of which were unthinkable for the Raiders before. And, frankly, the likes of which they didn’t really need with either the cool breeze off the bay or the usually moderate Napa temperatures. But here in Las Vegas, the indoor option is a must.

This wasn’t just an indoor field, however. It was an indoor field and a half. Literally. It was a full football field with another half of a field after that.

If it’s anything like the half field that was outdoors in Alameda, it will often be where the kickers practice while the rest of the team works on the full field.

For now, it was the familiar sight of the players lined from sideline to sideline warming up, trotting up and down the field. Immediately followed by stretching.

After warm-ups, the player emptied out through the new workout area and onto the outside fields. We walked around the outside of the building and eventually joined them.

It wasn’t yet 8am and the sun was already pretty harsh. Even with the early practices, sunscreen and hydration are a must.

The players were in helmets, which was the first time they have donned them since they began training camp in late July. The previous practices, however, were walk-thrus only. This day, they weren’t yet going full — that isn’t for another five days — but they were clearly in the next phase of the process.

First, they split up into position drills. Then the offenses lined up and ran routes plays, with passes and simulated blocking. Then they worked on special teams, primarily punting teams including coverage and fielding.

A few players were not in attendance.

Defensive end Maxx Crosby and running back Rod Smith are still on the reserve/COVID-19 list and will be until they test negative, at which point they can re-join their teammates.

Josh Jacobs and Trent Brown were also not out there. Along with the other safety protocols, the team must rotate players out to keep from having too many guys on the field at the same time. It was Jacobs and Brown’s day.

Both were on the premises, though. Jacobs still appeared in his Zoom call with the media afterward and I personally saw Brown walk to his car shortly after practice.

There are only brief moments of familiarity to training camps of years past. This is a new facility in a new city during a pandemic. But while everything around may seem foreign — the location, the timing, the circumstances — these Raiders are doing their best to find the familiar and a continuity. After all, the details on the field are ultimately the same.

In addition, some of the new and different things are exciting. Suddenly there isn’t a team in the league with more state-of-the-art facilities and equipment than the Raiders. The building and everything in it just had the plastic taken off of it. It has that new smell.

While this figures to be a one-off for Raiders training camp, as they plan to return to Napa next year, it’s fascinating to be having camp here now. Breaking in their new facility even while the construction crews are still actively working on parts of the grounds.

It’s ‘ready or not, here we come’ for these Raiders. Both for the team in this environment, and the facilities in their new home. It’s the newest chapter in a whole new book.