Raiders Have Decisions to Make With Preseason Games

With position battles happening all over the roster, the Las Vegas Raiders have to decide how they will approach preseason games to decide those final positions.

Aug 26, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell (4) in the pocket in the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

In the NFL, when it comes down to the preseason, there are different views on how people around the league look at it. Some think it is meaningful, while others think it is a waste of time for the NFL.

The NFL used to make teams play four preseason games. That has now changed to three games.

One thing is for certain about the preseason: These preseason games benefit more for the players trying to make the 53-man roster or show what they got.

Some teams do not always let certain players touch the field in the preseason, but other teams have to let players play in the preseason, especially if they're in a position battle.

Our Hondo S. Carpenter Sr. and Michael France discussed how the Raiders will use preseason games on a recent episode of the "Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast."

"You got two quarterbacks competing for the job and I think three. Anthony Brown, he has played games in this league," Carpenter said. "You got three guys competing for QB1. And at some point, they got to get real reps, but they have to get real reps against the best players. Now there is no competition with Christan [Wilkins], there is no competition with Maxx [Crosby], so you do not have to play them. But what is the fine line when, 'All right, we are gonna probably have to play most of our starters or the best second-stringers for the first half of the first two games maybe until the quarterback situation.' This becomes an interesting dilemma for the Raiders on how they approach this."

"I think it is also going to be a good litmus test early on to as who the real competitors are and how AP can manage those competitiors," France said. "Obviously, it is preseason, and you are going to have to do a lot of mixing and matching with all these key players on the field in preseason games. And of course, if you are a head coach, you play someone in a preseason game, and you know they blow out an ACL, then you look like a donkey. It is easy to look at that in hindsight if that were to happen.

But at the end of the day, you have a competitive team with pieces you believe in, they want to fight for spots and it just beyond the quarterback position. I think there are a lot of guys on the Raiders that can really compete and do something this year. The rookies, a lot of the new people brought in. So, I think it is going to be mixing and matching, and especially, it is vital for the quarterback to be getting those reps with all those guys and to get quality looks. So, they could perform and show in a quality environment what they can do."

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