Josh McDaniels on Raiders' Deep, Competitive Roster

The Las Vegas Raiders will have position battles at nearly every position this training camp.

The Las Vegas Raiders were one of the busiest teams in the NFL during the free agency period in March.

They added 17 new players during that time, and also recently signed cornerback Marcus Peters to a one-year contract.

It’s clear that General Manager Dave Ziegler was looking to upgrade the roster and add some depth and competition to it. The Raiders are expected to have position battles at almost every position on the team.

Coach Josh McDaniels is entering his second season with the Raiders, and now has a roster a bit more tailored to his strengths as a coach. He addressed the media ahead of Tuesday’s first training camp practice and spoke about the depth and competition his roster will have.

“I think it makes us all better,” McDaniels said. “I mean, when you know that there’s guys in your room that are trying to earn playing time that would otherwise go to you, it just makes you work that much harder. It makes you study and prepare hard. And so, I think we’ve always tried to do that as much as we could at every position. Some positions, as you guys know, changed a little bit more than others this spring and this offseason, but I think we’ve tried to build competition at every spot we could. And then now is the time for them to go out there and get opportunities and determine what their role is going to be. We’ve always told them that their role will be what they make it, and that means if they get opportunities and what they do with it is important.”

Training camp is the time of year where players will get their first opportunity to compete for playing time. With all the position battles the Raiders will have, there should be lots of competition.

Fortunately for the Raiders, the players who don’t end up playing starter snaps can still get on the field and be productive.

As the Raiders look to bounce back from a disappointing 2022 season, McDaniels has several new players on both sides of the ball competing for playing time. Training camp will be worth monitoring as so many different players look to earn their spot on the field.

The Silver and Black open the preseason by hosting the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Aug. 13, at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT.

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