The Las Vegas Raiders are ready to embark on their regular season journey. The first game of the year starts at home against the Miami Dolphins.
This is one of the most winnable games on the team’s schedule, so it’ll be an important statement. This has been one of the quieter offseasons for the Raiders thanks to new head coach Klint Kubiak. He has been running a tight ship and rarely gives much info to the media.
The Raiders hadn’t named their team captains, and there’s a reason for that. According to Kubiak, Las Vegas is going to name their team captains on a week-by-week basis. He was hesitant at first to reveal who the captains will be in Week 1, but finally caved in.
Kubiak said that quarterback Kirk Cousins, linebacker Segun Olubi and linebacker Quay Walker will be the captains against the Dolphins. The way it works is that Cousins is the captain of the offense, Olubi is the captain of special teams and Walker is the captain of the defense.
This is a bit outside the box, and it likely means that no players on the Raiders will have a captain patch on their jerseys.
Ashton Jeanty Injury Update
The Raiders had an injury scare with running back Ashton Jeanty earlier in training camp, but they’ve tried to stay quiet. It hasn’t been clear if he was going to play in Week 1, but his prospects are looking up.
Kubiak said that Jeanty is practicing this week, but didn’t reveal if he’d be limited. When pressed further, he did drop an interesting nugget.
“We’re expecting to have all of our guys ready for Sunday,” Kubiak told reporters.
That sure sounds like the plan is for Jeanty to play against the Dolphins. The Raiders also had him No. 1 on the depth chart at running back. It’s still not entirely clear what’s wrong with him, but the Raiders definitely avoided disaster. Even if he’s limited in Week 1, it doesn’t sound like he’ll be limited for long. The Raiders are very excited about how he looked this offseason, so he could be in for a massive season if he stays healthy.
Kubiak Talks Week 1
Kubiak is about to coach his first real regular season game as the man in charge. His father was a head coach for a long time, so he should have a better idea of what it takes than most.
You wouldn’t be able to tell that he’s about to coach his first game. He has been calm, cool and collected all offseason. He’s eager to see all that hard work pay off, but he knows that the work never stops.
“We’ll never be satisfied,” Kubiak said. “Always trying to get better. The culture is about the people in the building. Obviously, it can start with us as coaches, but ultimately, the culture is set by the players on the field, and we’re gonna find out Sunday what we’re all about.”
Kubiak will have some big challenges this season, but starting off his head coaching career with a win would have to feel good.
Klint Kubiak Names Raiders Team Captains & Gives Big Ashton Jeanty Update