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The Las Vegas Raiders are neck-deep in controversy following the resignation of head coach Jon Gruden. While the front office deals with the fallout, the players and coaches need to focus on Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. It’s the team’s second divisional game this season and could be the game that determines how the rest of the season will look for the silver and black.
With the Raiders about to head to Denver, the Broncos are bringing in one of their former players. The team announced that they’re signing wide receiver John Brown to their practice squad.
Brown was with the Raiders for most of the offseason and training camp. He figured to be a key player on the offense this season due to his success with other teams. Brown has two 1,000+ yard receiving seasons in his career. The Raiders started to favor Henry Ruggs and Bryan Edwards heading into the season so Brown requested that he be released to seek other opportunities.
He had to wait nearly six weeks of the season to land on the Broncos’ practice squad so he could be regretting that decision. He could end up being a key player for the team but it’s hard to imagine that he’ll be ready to suit up against the Raiders on Sunday.
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Can Raiders Beat the Broncos?
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GettyDerek Carr & Von Miller.
Back right before the 2019 season, the Raiders dealt with another major controversy when the team was forced to release wide receiver Antonio Brown. He was supposed to be the focal point of the offense but forced his way off the team after a series of controversial behavior. Shortly after the team released Brown, they had to face the Broncos on Monday Night Football to start the season. The Raiders won that game 24-16.
The team will need another gutsy performance on Sunday to get a win over the Broncos. Denver has a good team and home-field advantage. The Raiders will head into the game emotionally drained after losing their head coach. It’s going to be a very difficult game for them to win. It’s possible that they can rally around interim head coach Rich Bisaccia and pull off a win but it’s more likely that it takes a few weeks for the Raiders to readjust to life without Gruden.
Mike Mayock Getting a Chance to Be in Charge
Raiders owner Mark Davis is likely to be heavily involved with the team’s football decisions while he figures out next steps but general manager Mike Mayock will be in charge for now. It was no secret that he played second fiddle to Gruden over the last three years. The coach had all the control over the Raiders. The team has made some questionable decisions over the last few seasons so it’s hard to know if Gruden or Mayock was responsible for the majority of those.
If Mayock can navigate the rest of this season well, he’ll get a chance to have total control of the team heading into the offseason. Davis may want to have a completely fresh start but Mayock could be the right man for the job with the proper support.
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