HENDERSON, Nev. — The first notable absence of the Las Vegas Raiders’ training camp came on Thursday: Rookie cornerback Jermod McCoy was not present. He had participated in every session leading up to the practice, though assistant head coach Mike McCoy said there is no cause for concern.“We’ve got a plan for him,” McCoy said. “We laid this out, a plan for him, a long time ago, and this was a part of his rest.”The Raiders are managing a knee ailment that caused McCoy to drop to the fourth round in April’s NFL Draft. The rookie missed his final collegiate season at Tennessee with a torn right ACL, from which he has since recovered. But an issue with the cartilage in his knee had teams worried about his prospects, causing them to pass.McCoy was held out from the majority of OTAs and all of mandatory minicamp under team supervision, which head coach Klint Kubiak said is being led by wellness coordinator Alex Guerrero. Kubiak said McCoy was due for “plenty of reps” in training camp, which rang true until Thursday. Kubiak called having McCoy available to begin camp “a positive start” and said it was “excellent” to see how much work he’d been getting.Raiders players trending up, downSam WarrenMcCoy’s talent had shown through in his first few practices. He had an impressive pass break up on an E.J. Williams Jr. slant during a team period, and had tight coverage to force an incompletion in the end zone against Dareke Young. He also made rookie mistakes at times; he was forced to commit a hold against Shedrick Jackson after getting beat on a go ball, and struggled to break on hitch routes in 1-on-1 situations.The rookie ran predominantly with the second and third units in his first practices, and his opportunities were limited as the team continued to manage his reps. How much McCoy can continue to go in training camp and the preseason will be telling for his availability in his first year.Rookie Keyron Crawford also left practice on Thursday after colliding with Malcolm Koonce in the backfield while rushing the passer. The edge defender walked off the field with team trainers and did not return, though Koonce continued to practice. Mike McCoy did not have an immediate update on Crawford’s status after the session.First offensive line shakeupRaiders offensive line coach Rick Dennison said earlier this week that, as they get further in their install, they’ll “pull and keep moving guys around” up front. The first such occurrence came Thursday.Las Vegas rotated Jackson Powers-Johnson and Caleb Rogers at right guard with the first team. Powers-Johnson, who’d taken all the starting reps to this point, assumed his position for the first team period. But Rogers supplanted him during the second team period and the Raiders continued to alternate them for the rest of practice.
Jermod McCoy missing practice? All part of the plan: Raiders training camp notes
Plus, a shakeup on the offensive line and a very special guest at Klint Kubiak's practice.















