Getty Las Vegas Raiders LB Cory Littleton.
Though teams can’t officially meet in person, the Las Vegas Raiders have been taking part in virtual meetings. It’s certainly different than what players are used to, but they’re making the best of it. Cory Littleton is new to the team and is one of the most exciting additions the Raiders made this offseason. He recently gave some insight into how virtual meetings are going.
“It’s definitely different,” Littleton said, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We’re still getting some of the work in, but it’s from a different aspect. You’re inside your own house, or wherever it might be that you are situated. … But the one thing I know is, playing football, there is always change. There are always adjustments to make. And as football players, we make adjustments. It’s who we are and what we do.”
The lockdown hasn’t kept some Raiders players from practicing together on their own, but that’s only a handful of guys. Considering the team has added a lot of new players this offseason, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in these virtual meetings. Fortunately, the Raiders have done a very good job of keeping players accountable, according to Bonsignore.
Been talking to @Raiders players going through virtual OTA’s and the like due to Covid-19. I’m sensing a ton of accountability and guys urging each other to handle their business as professionals. Players I’ve talked to are taking responsibility and not making excuses
Rookie Tanner Muse Chimes In
Due to the new rules in place, Raiders players are going to have to take a lot of their offseason work into their own hands. There are no plans for training camps to get cancelled or delayed, but OTAs are valuable for rookies. Third-round pick Tanner Muse stressed the importance of players keeping themselves accountable.
“It’ll be really important for us to do extra on our own and really try to buckle down on our prep and our film and our conditioning,” Muse said, per Bonsignore.
The lack of offseason workouts played a role in the Raiders choosing to limit the number of rookies they drafted. The team has made it a point to draft high-character players over the past couple of years and that pays off in times like this. They’ll be a lot of work to do when training camp rolls around, but there’s no doubt Jon Gruden is giving his players plenty of work to do.
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Training Camp Might Move out of California
Speaking of training camp, the Raiders could be looking to ditch California this year. Despite the move to Las Vegas, the team was planning on keeping training camp in Napa, California for the foreseeable future. However, California has much stricter lockdown rules than Nevada at this moment in time. Due to this, the Raiders could look to do training camp at their new headquarters in Henderson, Nevada, according to Bonsignore:
The team is seriously considering moving its training camp from Napa, California, to its new headquarters in Henderson. According to a person close to the team who was not authorized to speak on the record, training camp at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center is a viable option.
The Henderson headquarters hasn’t finished construction yet but it should be done in the near future. At the end of the day, it may just be simpler for the Raiders to stay in Las Vegas this year and perhaps reevaluate in 2021.
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