Photo by: Arnie Bazemore, Vegas Sports Today
COSTA MESA, CA. — The Raiders first day of training camp has come to an end. With that said, there’s a lot to unpack, so let’s dive right into it. Aidan O’Connell started off camp with the starters, which is no surprise. We will see who wins the competition in the next month or so, but as of now, O’Connell is and always has been in the driver seat as of now. Rookie second round pick Jackson Powers-Johnson is sidelined on the PUP list, but reports are they’re just being extra cautious.
Veteran receiver Michael Gallup who signed a one year deal back in April suddenly retired. OT Kolton Miller is also sidelined with an injury, as well as Jake Johanning, Darien Butler and Jalen Guyton. After practice, the media spoke with Maxx Crosby, Aidan O’Connell, Gardner Minshew, and Davante Adams. Here are some of their best quotes from after day one of practice.
Quotes from Raiders training camp:
DE Maxx Crosby: “We’re here to get better, get closer and focus on improving everyday. Some people say they like it, they love it, but I live it.” When asked about the prediction of the Raiders only winning six games this year: “That’s just noise. Sometimes we’re super bowl contenders and sometimes we’re only predicted to win six games but it’s really all irrelevant and we could careless, we need to just go out there and win when it matters in the regular season and beyond at the end of the day, that’s really all that matters.”
Who will be the starting quarterback for the Raiders in 2024?
QB Aidan O’Connell: When asked what it means to him to have the support of his teammates “Davante and others have supported me since I got here even when I was a rookie over a year ago in my first practice back in the Spring even, and all of that is great, but I still need to go out and earn it everyday.”
When asked about his approach this year compared to last year “Every year I think presents a new challenge, but the mentality has to always stay the same whether you’re a solidified starter or not because like I said you gotta go out and earn it everyday, as this is a what have you done for me lately kind of league.”
Aidan O’Connell on Day 1 of Raiders training camp:
On being more vocal this season and developing swagger and confidence compared to last year: “It’s hard as a rookie, and now this year I’m getting more comfortable even with the other little things like off the field stuff, such as getting to know the other players and leading in the best way I can with confidence when we’re out on the field.”
Raiders training camp highlights:
QB Gardner Minshew: “Not expecting anything. Nobody really gives a crap about what I did on other teams, I gotta do it here when given the opportunities.”
On competition with Aidan O’Connell “It’s been awesome. It’s gonna be tough, gonna be a competition and only one of us will be on the field, but whoever is on the field we have the responsibility to go out there and win when called upon no matter what.
If I can lead this team to wins then I’ll be out there, if Aidan does it better he’ll be out there. We’re just gonna try to put our best foot forward and lead the team regardless.”
WR Davante Adams: On if he will be irritated if the Raiders start the season bad “Well yeah, but listen, I don’t live my life in a mindset that things may get bad. I didn’t come into last year in a bad place either, it was just the way the cookie crumbled unfortunately.
It wasn’t always the brightest point, but there were good moments too. I’m in a really good place right now though and excited to get rolling.” On if camp is still as fun as a veteran compared to back 10 years ago when he was a rookie “100%, I love the competition part of it and getting back to it after some time off.”
On if Antonio Pierce is the right coach for this Raiders team “AP is the right coach for any team. It’s real easy to follow a guy that knows the big picture and has the same mindset as the players, plus he’s won a Superbowl as a player too, he’s always been a great leader and great at what he does.”
