The Las Vegas Raiders completed their 13th practice of training camp Monday at Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Jackson Powers-Johnson didn’t.
Powers-Johnson was slow to get up after falling to the ground on a play from scrimmage as the Raiders rehearsed red-zone situations — walking to the sideline and leaving with a staffer (into the indoor practice facility) shortly thereafter. The third-year offensive lineman this year has manned a bulk of the first-team snaps at right guard, starting there Thursday in the preseason opener against the Arizona Cardinals at Allegiant Stadium.
Second-year guard Caleb Rogers has fielded first-team reps at right guard and filled in Monday for Powers-Johnson, with whom he’s been alternating first-team reps. Powers-Johnson missed nine games last season, playing 15 games in 2024 including 14 starts his rookie season.
Tight end Brock Bowers and defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway participated Monday after missing Sunday’s practice.
Here are other observations as the Raiders prepare for their joint practice Tuesday against the Houston Texans:
Kirk Cousins sharp in red-zone drills: He quarterbacked the first-team offense to several scores in the red-zone setting, connecting twice with Bowers, twice with wideout Jalen Nailor and once to Michael Mayer for touchdowns. Fernando Mendoza with the second-team offense threw scoring passes to running back Mike Washington Jr. and wide receiver Malik Benson.
Red-zone snaps and goal-line execution were focal points of practice.
Cousins picked during two-minute offense: Cousins didn’t have the same success toward the end of practice in the two-minute drill, firing deep down the left sideline to safety Isaiah Pola-Mao. Explaining the merit of the interception, Pola-Mao addressing reporters after practice said, “It’s just a step in the right direction. Progress. We’re all trying to get better each day.”
As for Mendoza’s two-minute drive, he dinked and dunked to tight end Ian Thomas, adding a completion to Benson to set up a 37-yard field-goal for kicker Matt Gay, who converted the kick through the practice field’s skinny uprights.
Darien Porter stays at first-team corner: The second-year cornerback handled the first-team reps opposite Eric Stokes for the second straight practice. Mixing in with the first-team defense throughout the majority of training camp, rookie Hezekiah Masses got second-team reps with Decamerion Richardson while fellow rookie Jermod McCoy worked with the third-team defense.
Kickoff issues plague both kickers: During the special teams portion of practice, Gay and rookie kicker Kansei Matsuzawa both issued a kickoff out of bounds. Matsuzawa did the same thing Thursday against Arizona. Gay made all of his field-goal attempts. Matsuzawa missed once from 40-ish yards on the practice field’s skinny uprights, though the kick would’ve likely split traditional uprights.
Dont’e Thornton Jr. still out: The second-year wide receiver didn’t participate in practice but worked again with a staffer on the side. Speaking to reporters last week, Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said he expects Thornton to play at some point some during the preseason.
Signed as a free agent Sunday, wide receiver Noah Brown practiced — wearing No. 33.
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.
