Raiders’ Sean Smith pleads not guilty to felony assault and battery charges

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Sean Smith left the Bay Area on Thursday, traveling to Los Angeles for a Friday arraignment in Pasadena, where he pleaded not guilty to felony assault and battery charges.

Next on his itinerary: Rejoin teammates and play the Denver Broncos.

The Raiders excused the veteran cornerback from Friday’s team activities to address the criminal case. It relates to a July 4 incident in which he allegedly assaulted his sister’s boyfriend. Smith’s next court appointment, a Nov. 6 preliminary hearing, falls on a player off-day

To attend the arraignment, Smith missed team meetings and a light practice Friday.

To attend the Nov. 6 hearing, a red-eye flight will be required. At least, that is presuming he does not skip the Raiders’ Nov. 5 road game against the Miami Dolphins. Kickoff is 8:30 p.m. ET for “Sunday Night Football.”

Smith’s absence Friday is not expected to impact his availability Sunday in Denver.

“He’ll be fine,” coach Jack Del Rio said. “Sean will be ready to go.”

Like his team, the 30-year-old looks to rebound. He played three defensive snaps Sunday in a limited subpackage role. He allowed two catches for 44 yards and a touchdown in man coverage against Washington Redskins tight end Vernon Davis in a 27-10 loss.

Raiders prepare for Miller

Von Miller.

That name alone represents a daunting challenge to opposing offenses.

In his short career, Miller is third all time in sacks for the Broncos, and he was named MVP in Super Bowl 50 for his dominating performance in a win over the Carolina Panthers.

Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing said he thinks the Raiders have a similar player in Khalil Mack.

“We have a luxury in that department in that we have No. 52 on our team, who gives us a pretty darn good look at that kind of stuff in training camp and OTAs,” Downing said on how Mack helps prepare against Miller’s pass rush.

According to Pro Football Focus, Miller has generated pressure on 17.3 percent of his pass rushes in his career, the most pressure by any defender in the past 10 years.

In 2016, Mack was the best edge rusher in the NFL, generating pressure on 18.7 percent of his pass rushes. He was named AP Defensive Player of the Year. Miller generated pressure on 18.3 percent of his rushes.

Left tackle Donald Penn is accustomed to facing Miller twice a year. Having Mack helps, he said.

“I’m going to try and get a couple of pass reps against Khalil this week to try and simulate (Von Miller),” Penn said. “I feel those two guys are two of the best defensive guys in the NFL right now, and I’m lucky I got one of them on my team.”

Notable

— Wide receiver Michael Crabtree (chest) took a step back Friday from a practice participation standpoint. As to whether he suffered a setback, Del Rio intentionally left that unclear. Crabtree was held out of Friday’s practice. This was after being limited Thursday and Wednesday. “No,” Del Rio said when asked if he would like to shed light on Crabtree’s decreased participation. “Don’t want to go into it.”

— In the teams’ last meeting Jan. 1, Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib ripped Crabtree’s gold chain from his neck between plays during the first quarter. Talib was not interested in that topic Friday. “I’m not worried about ‘Crab boy’s’ chain,” Talib told Denver-area reporters. “I’m not worried about any of that. I’m worried about what routes these guys are running, what concepts these guys are running and stuff like that. So that’s the last thing I’m worried about.”

— The Raiders listed cornerback Gareon Conley (shin) and safety Keith McGill II (foot) as questionable to face the Broncos. They were limited participants Friday.

Review-Journal reporter Chris Booker contributed to this story. Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GehlkenNFL on Twitter.