Raiders name 6 team captains for this season
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Jon Gruden patrolled the Raiders practice field at the team’s headquarters yelling at the top of his lungs. This is common at a Raiders practice.
What was out of the ordinary was the sound of applause that followed.
Gruden wasn’t yelling at his players to complete their drills, and he wasn’t critiquing a bad route. Gruden had only one thing to yell about at the beginning of practice Friday — team captain announcements.
Following the announcement, Gruden walked up to each of the recently named team captains individually, shook their hands and offered words of encouragement.
The Raiders selected six team captains, two more than they had last season. Reprising their roles as captains are quarterback Derek Carr, center Rodney Hudson and safety Reggie Nelson. Carr and Hudson will renew their roles as offensive captains with Nelson returning as a defensive captain.
The only team captain not retaining his role from last season is defensive end Khalil Mack, who was traded to the Chicago Bears last Saturday in exchange for draft picks. Defensive end Bruce Irvin takes over Mack’s role as the second defensive captain.
Joining Irvin and Nelson as a defensive captain is linebacker Derrick Johnson. Johnson spent his 13 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs where he also had a stint as team captain.
The Raiders also will have a special teams captain for the first time in many years in linebacker Kyle Wilbur, who signed March 17. Wilbur was coached by Raiders special teams coach Rich Bisaccia when they were together in Dallas from 2012-2017.
Notables
— Running back DeAndre Washington (calf) missed practice Friday. Washington suffered a calf strain July 29.
— Offensive guard Kelechi Osemele (back), running back Marshawn Lynch (groin), and defensive tackle Brian Price (hamstring) were limited during practice. Linebacker Tahir Whitehead (ankle) returned to full practice after being limited Thursday.
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