Getty Las Vegas Raiders LB Marquel Lee.
For the first time ever, the Las Vegas Raiders finally reported to training camp on Tuesday. While the team is usually holding their training camp in Napa, California, the COVID-19 pandemic has required them to test out their new facilities in Henderson, Nevada. There’s no news of any players for the team opting out of the season but it appears they’ve already lost a couple of players for the start of camp.
According to the Raiders’ website, linebacker Marquel Lee has been placed on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list. This means that Lee must’ve been hurt before going to training camp but he can still practice with the team. He missed a lot of the 2019 season due to injury but has started a handful of games for the Raiders over the last three years. There haven’t been any specifics revealed quite yet on what’s going on with Lee. It remains to be seen if it has anything to do with the ankle that he hurt last season.
UDFA Wide Receiver Will Also Miss Time
Lee isn’t the only player the Raiders announced could miss some time. Undrafted free agent wide receiver Siaosi Mariner out of Utah State was placed on the Active/Non-Football Illness list. Teams do have a designated “COVID-19 List” so if Mariner tested positive for the disease, he would likely have a different designation.
Mariner was recently seen working out with other players with the team at a private practice. If he’s sick, it must have happened somewhat recently. It seems like every year, the Raiders have an undrafted wide receiver that makes a splash at training camp. Mariner was a prime candidate to be that guy this year as he had a productive senior year at Utah State. Time will tell how long he’ll be out. With rosters needing to be cut down in mid-August, Mariner will probably be trying to get on the field ASAP.
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An Unprecedented Training Camp
The fact that the NFL is even having training camps is good news. For a while, it didn’t seem like a foregone conclusion that football would be played this year. Things will certainly be different but players will be hitting the practice field very soon.
It’s strange times for the Raiders as they have to head to a new city and hold training camp in a new facility. Fortunately, everything about the new headquarters in Henderson, Nevada looks like it will be a great place for the team to call home for the next month or so. However, the plan is for the Raiders to hold training camp in Napa in the future, according to Mark Davis.
“I would like to continue to do it there,” Davis said, per Vic Tafur of The Athletic. “It is one of the most beautiful places in the world and gives us ties back to our Northern California roots. Southern California is another possibility, but I just think there is nothing better than Napa.”
Training camp will be a different experience for every team this offseason but it’s promising that there is at least a training camp at all.
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