Raiders report: Team goes to special lengths to speed up O’Connell

Raiders coach Pete Carroll admitted he and the coaching staff may have gotten a bit carried away in their effort to speed up backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell during Wednesday’s practice.

The experiment led to some frustration from O’Connell, which was just fine with Carroll.

“He’s really feisty and he cares a whole lot that he’s serving everybody properly and everybody’s relying on him to make the call and get us going and all that,” Carroll said. “The fact he takes pride in that and it pisses him off sometimes, there ain’t nothing wrong with that.”

Carroll said earlier in the week he thought the offense wasn’t operating with enough pace, from huddle to snap, under O’Connell.

So Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly decided to put O’Connell on an 18-second play clock to force the tempo.

That led to some chaotic scrambles getting to the line and some disjointed plays Wednesday. O’Connell outwardly expressed frustration on at least two occasions, which was a bit out of character for the third-year quarterback.

“What we did today is turned the clock down on him, made it a lot shorter and made it really hard on him,” Carroll said. “We’re trying to make it as difficult as possible and turn the noise up on him and he got a little frustrated. I told him we’d slow it down a little because it was kind of unrealistic.”

Playing it safe

Cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly, a Bishop Gorman alum who has been taking the majority of his reps with the first-team defense, did not participate in Wednesday’s practice.

Carroll said the decision was largely precautionary.

“He just felt his hamstring a little bit,” Carroll said. “It isn’t a pull, necessarily. But he felt it enough where as soon as we get those messages, we stop the guy. We don’t want to get to the next level too fast.”

Running back Raheem Mostert was also not seen on the practice field, though his absence did not appear to be injury related.

Mostert’s wife Devon indicated on her Instagram account the couple’s newborn daughter was scheduled to undergo eye surgery Wednesday. She later posted the procedure “went perfect.”

Edmunds getting more reps

Safety Terrell Edmunds, who signed with the Raiders on Aug. 10, saw his most extensive work yet with the starters in nickel packages during Wednesday’s practice.

“I like him,” Carroll said. “He brings you that sense of experience. You see it when you watch the film. He’s done tons of stuff, at the line of scrimmage on the deep end, coverage-wise, blitz-wise. He brings that to us and he has a level of confidence that’s obvious. So it’s a great pickup for us and he’s right in the middle of everything, right in the middle of competing for snaps and all that.”

Edmunds’ emergence comes as no surprise to starting middle linebacker Elandon Roberts, who knows Edmunds from their time together with the Steelers.

“When we signed him, I was like, ‘This is going to be great,’” Roberts said. “I told him right when he walked in the door that the defense fits him and I hope he’s able to get his opportunity to take advantage of it.

“He’s a very smart guy. A big guy, but at the same time he’s very fluid and very fast. Obviously he was a first-round pick (by the Steelers in 2018) and you see it in his stature and his ability.”

Play of the day

Defensive lineman Tyree Wilson had a strong day of practice Wednesday, which included a pro wrestling-style takedown of rookie running back Ashton Jeanty.

Wilson smiled when recounting the play.

“I told him before practice I was going to get the ball out today. I didn’t get it,” Wilson said. “So I just had to finish the play on him.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.