Raiders Players Appear to Be Enjoying Themselves With Josh McDaniels Gone

Reports hint at a warm internal reception to Las Vegas's regime change.
Raiders Players Appear to Be Enjoying Themselves With Josh McDaniels Gone
Raiders Players Appear to Be Enjoying Themselves With Josh McDaniels Gone /
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The Raiders have spent this season primarily engaged in the emanation of bad vibes.

Las Vegas's expectations for this season were modest, but the Raiders gradually engendered even more fan apathy as the season wore on. They somehow hit October's midpoint at 3-3, but losses to the Bears (30-12) and Lions (26-14) doomed the team to the cellar as the calendar turned to November.

Now, coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler are gone. Las Vegas is turning over a new leaf with interim coach Antonio Pierce at the helm, and the Raiders appear to have responded positively to the new regime.

Thursday afternoon, Jesse Merrick of KSNV-TV in Las Vegas tweeted video of wide receiver Davante Adams and running back Ameer Abdullah jovially playing with a mini basketball after practice.

Vic Tafur of The Athletic was more succinct: "Happiest locker room ever."

Fans were pleased with the rejuvenated mood of the team.

Whether Las Vegas's new mood will translate to wins will be determined quickly, as the Raiders host the Giants on Sunday.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .