The starting offensive line for the Las Vegas Raiders has remained largely static throughout training camp.
That changed on Thursday.
Second-year guard Caleb Rogers rotated in with Jackson Powers-Johnson for some first-team reps in the first significant movement on the line in the first few weeks of camp.
“It’s just competition,” Powers-Johnson said. “Having fun playing football.”
Spencer Burford held down the other starting guard spot, as usual.
There was a belief both starting guard spots were open entering camp with left tackle Kolton Miller, center Tyler Linderbaum and right tackle DJ Glaze mostly locked in to the other three spots on the offensive line.
“The coaches have a plan in place and moving guys around and seeing who can do what, giving guys opportunities to show what they can do with different groups is part of that,” assistant head coach Mike McCoy said. “There’s going to be constant change all throughout camp.”
Burford, however, appears to be well on his way to earning a starting role. He said he didn’t think about whether he was a starter or back up, he just came to camp ready to work and show he was deserving of a role.
“Every day you come out here is a competition,” he said. “Every day, anything that you do, from meetings, anything that you do from being on the field, even the things that no one’s watching, as far as recovery, as far as treatment, all of that’s getting taken account of. So, every day that you come out here is going to be a competition, whether you’re competing against a defense or whether you’re competing against a guy in the room.
“You’re constantly getting evaluated. You’re going to be constantly getting put under a microscope. They’re just trying to maximize everybody’s potential basically.”
Here are some other observations from Thursday’s practice at the team facility in Henderson:
Bowers dominates
While it could probably be mentioned every day, star tight end Brock Bowers was essentially unguardable Thursday.
He was hauling in passes at all three levels, including a deep ball behind the defense from Kirk Cousins.
“With the type of competitors we have in this organization, especially speaking for the linebackers, to be able to cover a generational talent like Brock on a day in and day out only makes you better,” linebackers coach Ronell Williams said. “That goes into the conversation of the urgency to attack the technique and the fundamentals to figure out how we need to refine it and not being casual with that approach.”
Rest day for McCoy
Fourth-round pick Jermod McCoy did not practice on Thursday, but McCoy said it was just part of the process of bringing him along after missing his final collegiate season with a knee injury.
“We have a plan for him,” McCoy said. “We laid it out a long time ago and this was part of the rest.”
Thursday was the first practice McCoy has missed since training camp began.
Mayer returns
Tight end Michael Mayer was back on the practice field after leaving a session earlier this week.
Coach Klint Kubiak said Mayer had “busted up his nose,” but he showed no ill effects.
Third-round pick Keyron Crawford left Thursday’s practice early with the athletic training staff.
Defense has solid day
It was a positive practice for the young defense, particularly the defensive backs.
Rookies Dalton Johnson and Hezekiah Masses both saw first-team reps for a group that knocked down several passes.
There were also several tipped balls at the line of scrimmage.
Veteran defensive back Taron Johnson was impressed with what some of the young defensive backs were able to do on Thursday.
“Today, they were making a whole bunch of plays on the ball,” Johnson said. “I feel like (Treydan Stukes) is really flying around. How he moves on the field is very impressive to me.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
