There were probably a few Raiders players who you were hoping to see in their preseason opener last week in Las Vegas. At least five of those players figure to suit up to make their 2021 preseason debut tonight when the Raiders take on the Rams in LA.
QB Marcus Mariota
Mariota suited up for last week’s game and remained suited up throughout. But he had an injury he was nursing, so he was only going to see action in case of emergency. Instead the team played Nate Peterman for all but one snap. Case Cookus got that one — a handoff to the fullback.
Cookus was waived when Mariota returned to practice. With him healthy, he figures to get the start with Derek Carr a likely scratch. There was no preseason last year, but even if there had been Mariota would have missed it because he was injured. He appeared in one game last season, playing the final three quarters of the team’s week 14 game against the Chargers.
Mariota has struggled some in practice in terms of throwing interceptions. He will look to reclaim his place as Carr’s primary backup after a solid performance from Peterman last week.
DT Darius Stills
The most high profile undrafted rookie for the Raiders this year. Still was named the Big-12 Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2020, but went undrafted primarily due to size concerns. He had drawn praise from his coaches and teammates throughout offseason workouts and training camp before going down with an injury.
It appears Still may have broken his right hand. He practiced on Thursday against the Rams sporting a club cast on his right hand/wrist and figures to play with it tonight.
LB Te’von Coney
This week the Raiders brought back Coney who, like Stills, was a highly thought of undrafted free agent last year. The former Notre Dame linebacker could see some good reps due to an injury to Nick Kwiatkoski and Nicholas Morrow and Cory Littleton likely sitting this one out.
S Karl Joseph
Joseph was mentioned along with Casey Hayward as being a strong veteran presence for this team. But unlike Hayward, Joseph is not expected to start. He was injured for the preseason opener and returned last week. He will be looking to prove he is more than just a voice in the locker room, but that he can be a strong contributor on the field as well.
K Daniel Carlson
Carlson was on the reserve/COVID-19 list for the preseason opener, so Dominik Eberle handled kicking duties. Days later, Carlson returned and Eberle was waived to get down to 90 players. So, Carlson it is. At least for field goals. It’s possible the team gives punter Corliss Waitman a shot at kickoff duties just to see what he can do there.