From Raiders Joint Practice: Coach Josh McDaniels

THOUSAND OAKS, Cal.--The Las Vegas Raiders are in the midst of the fourth week of the 2023 National Football League Training Camp, and today Coach Josh McDaniels addressed the media.

We have all of his comments for you to watch below, as well as the entire transcript for you to read:

Head Coach Josh McDaniels

Q: Some good news for you guys with Tyree Wilson coming off the NFI list. What are your expectations? And are you going to just let it fly with him on the first day?

Coach McDaniels: "No, we definitely won't let it fly. He's progressing the way we thought he would. And so, now it's time to kind of take the next step here and get him on the field and get him in his pads. Start working toward the ability to be in team drills and all the rest of that stuff. So, we'll try to take it at the right pace here as we go."

Q: Players who are coming off an injury like that, what's typically the biggest adjustment they have to make in terms of ramping up on the field.

McDaniels: "Yeah, he hasn't had his pads on and contact and felt a 320-pound guy leaning on him and all the rest of that stuff. He's gone through all the other phases so far and now it's time to begin the contact phase and start to do the things that a defensive edge player will do. So, we're going to take the same approach we've been taking, which is make sure that we keep checking off the box and then we'll go to the next one. So, today hopefully will be another step in the right direction."

Q: When you come into these joint practices on the road, are you just working on how you want them to have a road approach? Just maybe working toward the season because you don't really game plan for this at all, right?

McDaniels: "Not really. I mean, there's an element. I would say there's an element of preparation though that goes into this because you can't just send them out there and have no idea what the differences are between our team, which they practiced against for a number of days, San Francisco who has a completely different style, and now this team which will be a different style from San Francisco. So, we spent a little time just talking about what the differences are. We're trying to familiarize themselves with the players who they're going to be going up against. To me, you're killing a lot of birds with one stone here. Some team unity bonding, we're together in the hotel and have an opportunity to really spend quality time together with one another outside of football. And at the same time, we're kind of getting ready for the regular season in terms of our mindset of learning an opponent: 'What do they do?', 'What are their strengths or weaknesses?', 'How is their scheme different?', starting to understand players a little bit more who you're going to be lining up against. So, there are a lot of things that we get out of this. And so far, it's been great working with Sean [McVay] and this group here. It's a first-class organization."

Q: Any updates on Michael Mayer or Hunter Renfrow in terms of being out there today?

McDaniels: "There were a number of guys who didn't make the trip with us because they're kind of in that process of going through the rehabilitation so that they can return here soon. Michael and Hunter are two who are here with us and are actually working back in. I think you'll see them a little bit today working back in and doing some things. Again, we're just trying to take the right steps with each guy so that we can get them back healthy and ready to go here when they're ready to go."

Q: Are joint practices with other teams something you'd like to continue in the future?

McDaniels: "Every year is different. It has to fit relative to who your preseason opponents are, do they want to do it? Does the venue accommodate such activity? Ours obviously does in Las Vegas. This has been a good setup here for us in L.A. So, I think each year is different. We'll look at it as we go, but I think this is a great opportunity for us to challenge your football team. Along with hitting a lot of the things I just mentioned, you get a lot of things done in a short period of time here. And with some of the restrictions you have now time-wise, this is as productive as we can be."

Q: Have there been some people maybe who were on the bubble that because of their performance in the game or practices they maybe earned more reps?

McDaniels: "We haven't even discussed a bubble or anything like that. But I think this is just more everybody's going to get opportunities to continue to do such. Eventually, that might change a little bit or get tapered one way or the other. But right now, everybody's got an opportunity to compete. I think that evaluation is ongoing every day at every position. So, you'll see everybody out here participating."

Q: Obviously, whenever you have joint practices, the subject of fights comes up. And last week against the 49ers, it didn't seem like there were much of any fights at all. I imagine you're probably pleased about that. What do you think the reason for that is? Is it a message you put out? Is it something else?

McDaniels: "That’s not what we're here to do. So, we know it hurts the team when you do it in the game. Losing players in the middle of the game because we're going to get involved in extracurricular activity after plays and all the rest of it doesn't help our football team win. And last week both teams did a good job of understanding what we wanted to try to get out of it. Sean and I are on the same page on this in terms of what we're trying to get done here. None of it involves fighting. So, to me it's a waste of time to come out here and that's not toughness, that's not football. We're here to work, we're here to try to improve our football team. I think that's what they're here to do. And hopefully we do it the right way. I was proud of the way our team competed last week and did the right things, and I expect the same thing today."

Q: Are there things you want to see this week taking off from last week’s practices with the 49ers? Things you want to kind of jump off from that point and kind of see improvement on?

McDaniels: "Yeah, I'd say everything we'd like to try to improve. There were some things we did better last week. But also, I'd say there are plenty of opportunities for us to make progress. We'll probably see a little bit of a different tempo here from their offense. Sean likes to kind of push the tempo a little bit. So, our defense is going to probably get challenged a little bit differently here. We'll see how that goes. Offensively, we're going to see different defensive structures than we did last week. So, a lot to be gained here from the competition against a different opponent."

Q: I know we'll see when it comes out, but have there been changes on the depth chart?

McDaniels: "No changes."

Q: What's the status of Davante Adams? Will he be getting any reps out here this week?

McDaniels: "Yeah, he'll be here."

Q: Back 100 percent? Or is he limited in terms of what he can do?

McDaniels: "He'll be out here ready to roll."

Q: With all the new young guys out there on defense flying around, picking off the ball, getting out there stripping the ball, getting those fumbles recovered. How excited are you about that and how do you feel about these young guys on the field?

McDaniels: "I think we played with good effort most of the time last week. There were definitely some cases where we can improve that, but until you're playing with great effort with 11 guys on every snap on defense, it's hard to create a lot of turnovers because you're not near the ball enough. So, in order for us to close the windows, get to the ball carrier, try to create opportunities for us to disrupt the other team in that regard, you've got to play with effort first. So, we'll see if we can even take a step forward here this week."

The Silver and Black return to preseason action when they play the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 19, at 9 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. PDT.

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