Five Raiders looking for big weeks as preseason comes to a close

Everything is on the line for the Las Vegas Raiders  as preseason comes close to an end, and roster cutoffs are less than a week away.

For every player on the Raiders, this represents the last push before the regular season kicks off. Whether it is a player locked in a fierce position battle, a rookie fighting to earn more reps or someone on the roster bubble looking to claim one of the last handful of 53 spots, this week leaves precious little margin for error.

“You got to leave it all out there,” said wide receiver Tre Tucker on Sunday. “It’s crazy. It feels like we were just opening up training camp and the fans are out there. Now, we’re in the last preseason game. It just shows how fragile and how fast it goes.”

With limited opportunities remaining to stand out, the pressure falls on these five Raiders for a multitude of reasons. As a result, a big week of training camp and a strong final outing against the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday will go a long way towards cementing their spot in the lineup.

Mike Washington Jr.

On the surface, Washington has more than proven himself deserving of an expanded role in a NFL backfield.

However, Sunday’s practice turned everything on its head for the fourth round rookie, when Ashton Jeanty went down and left practice early. While later reports have indicated that Jeanty’s injury looked far worse than it actually was, the severity is still unclear. Even if Jeanty avoids the worst-case scenario and plays this season, Week One is no longer a guarantee, putting Washington in a potential starting job to begin his NFL career.

“I think Mike comes to work. He works very hard every day,” said offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko about the rookie running back.

“He asks great questions. He’s on his craft all the time, and it’s something that you see translated to the practice field. It’s something that we keep pushing him every single day.”

Malik Benson

After the previous preseason game against the Houston Texans, head coach Klint Kubiak laid down the gauntlet for his wide receiver corps.

“We are trying to find someone that is accountable and can help us on Sunday. Still looking,” said Kubiak on Friday.

The challenge opens the door for someone like Benson to make a splash. The sixth-round rookie has impressed early on with his chemistry with Fernando Mendoza and ability to absorb information, but the Houston game did not give him many opportunities to showcase his skills. Benson has earned a spot in the top-four receiver group, but the impetus now falls on him to keep the Raiders from looking for outside help.

“Just [Malik’s] growth day in and day out to where you can see he’s going to be important to this team and all,” said cornerback Eric Stokes.

“Even from the start of training camp with him just being a vertical threat, but now he’s able to do any route. He’s able to break it down. He’s able to just continue to show like he’s going to be one of the guys we can lean on in the future.”

Caleb Rogers

Right guard appears to be the only undecided position on the offensive line, and the battle has come down to Rogers and Jackson Powers-Johnson.

JPJ has earned most of the first-team reps so far, but an injury kept him out of joint practices and the preseason game against the Texans. During that time, Rogers was able to get an opportunity with the first team, and he managed to do well for himself in his reps. Both players will get some opportunities throughout this week to make their final case for themselves, and Rogers will be hoping that another strong week of tape makes the difference.

“That’s the thing about Caleb is he’s always trying to find things to improve on, things to work on,” said center Tyler Linderbaum, who has worked with Rogers throughout training camp.

“If you saw his notebook, you’d see the amount of notes that that dude takes. That’s the kind of guys you want in the room. [He] plays the game the right way, has the right attitude, wants to get better, wants to work hard and we all need to strive to be like that and have that mentality.”

Patrick Johnson

Of every Raider on the roster bubble, Johnson has been one of the players who has made a significantly positive impression.

Despite joining the team at the start of training camp and not having the pure knowledge of team infrastructure, Johnson has quickly put himself on the map in Las Vegas. His hard work on the practice field has paid off during preseason, as he is the only Raider to record a sack in both preseason games, including a strip sack against the Texans that turned the tide in Las Vegas’ favor. Despite a deep rotation of edge rushers, Johnson’s contributions have allowed him to emerge as a surprise candidate to crack the 53-man roster.

“I feel like I’ve done some really good stuff, but I feel like there’s also been a lot of things I need to improve on,” said Johnson.

“I’m just worried about how can I help the team get better. I can’t execute my calls to the fullest if my defensive tackles aren’t doing their things or the linebackers. Without them, I can’t do what I’m doing right now.”

Treydan Stukes

It took a bit for Stukes to differentiate himself from his fellow rookie defensive backs, but he has come alive over the last couple of weeks.

That momentum allowed him to improve dramatically over the course of the preseason, even to the point where he is taking practice with the starters. However, where Stukes impressed at Arizona was his versatility, and it is unclear if defensive coordinator Rob Leonard sees him strictly as a center field safety or a chess piece he can move around the secondary. The second-round pick has the skillset to succeed in numerous roles, but Leonard’s task is now to find where he can make the biggest impact possible.

“He’s being consistent,” said Leonard about Stukes. “My job is to push him outside of his comfort zone, challenge him in every way possible. Safeties are a big part of this defense and he’s done a great job with that.”