Las VegasRaiders Insider Podcast AnswersYour Quetsions as Mandatory Mini-Camp Is Underway

HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegaas Raiders have one more offseason hurdle to overcome before they get a respit, and then take to the air to arrive in Costa Mesa, California, for 2024 NFL Training Camp.

That hurdle? Mandatory NFL mini-camp this week.

With the temeratures sweltering well above 100 degrees, the only thing hotter than the weather is the expectations on Antonio Pierce and the Las Vegas Raiders organization. No ones expectations are higher than Pierce.

Enter his first full-season at the helm of the Iconic Silver and Black ship he is ready.

Our latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast answers your questions and emails as a mandatory mini-camp is underway around the NFL.

You can watch the entire podcast below:

New Las Vegas Raiders CB coach Ricky Manning addressed the media during OTAs and below is a brief transcript of some of what he said.

Q: When you look at the personalities in the cornerback room, you got a little bit of everything with Nate Hobbs and Jack Jones and Jakorian Bennett. How is that unit coming together, and can you talk about all those different personalities?

Coach Manning Jr.: “You can go ahead and say it, we are hot messes in the corner room. You know, we just hot heads, we think we the best and we smooth. It’s okay, it’s what we are, right. It's great. We having fun with it, right. Different personalities, but really, they are all in the same kind of game plan, right? Just trying to be great. There are guys that are more quiet/reserved, and there’s guys that are more outspoken. We welcome it all and we embrace it all, and I think our room is a good fit. We should gel well together.”

Q: How has the competition gone and is it higher than you thought even now in OTAs?

Coach Manning Jr.: “Yeah because I didn't even know the guys as much. Some of them I hadn’t seen until I got here for the most part. But yeah, definitely better than I expected. I didn't have no expectations, so I didn't know what to expect. I remember JB [Jakorian Bennett) more than any of them, but it's been going great. Guys are tuned in, they’re competing, they’re ready. We have a rep chart in our room, not a depth chart. We got to earn it, we got to earn a right to be on the depth chart. So, I'm moving guys around, guys at one and two, left side, right side. Just really diving into developing the guys and as we develop, we’re competing as well.”

Q: What has this opportunity been like just for you coaching with the Raiders being a Fresno guy?

Coach Manning Jr.: “It's awesome, man. It's great to be back on the West Coast and closer to my family. My family for the last two years was in California while I was in New York coaching. So, being able to go home every weekend and be more involved with things and give my wife a little bit of a break has been great. I grew up a Raider fan. Got my first hand-me-down starter jacket from one of my big cousins, and ever since then I was a Raider. Obviously, that changed when I got drafted by Carolina, but always had love for the Silver and Black. Always had a love for the guys that played here. Nnamdi Asomugha was a good friend of mine. We came out the same year and took some of our recruiting trips together. So, to be back here, to be here in this legendary organization while AP [Antonio Pierce] is doing his thing, it's awesome. It's a blessing for sure.”

Q: How cool was it to go from your experience as a player with Raiders and now as a coach? And what are some of the differences you've noticed within the organization?

Coach Manning Jr.: “Oh, it's been awesome just over the last couple of years being a coach now. One of the biggest things I'm experiencing here, and even in New York, is the amount of knowledge that I'm surrounded by and the great coaches I'm surrounded by. In New York, it was great, with [Jeff] Ulbrich, Tony Oden, Marquand [Manuel], Robert Saleh. I was thinking, okay, it can’t get no better than that, then I come here and Patrick Graham and GA [Gerald Alexander], Mike Caldwell. I’m surrounded by guys that have coached in this league and are great dudes. So, that right there, just being around it, I’m like ‘Oh, man, this is awesome right here.’ I’m learning something every day.”

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