NAPA – Gareon Conley’s hip strain will keep him out a while.
The Raiders don’t have an exact recovery timetable for last year’s first-round pick, but head coach Jon Gruden said he could be out a couple of weeks.
That might keep him out of the preseason opener versus Detroit, or maybe until training camp breaks the following week. Or maybe beyond that if all doesn’t go right.
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Time will tell on that front.
Conley had zero injury history before entering the NFL, but has had a long one since. A shin injury stole most of his rookie year, a groin strain impacted minicamp and now this hip issue from the first full-squad practice is eating away at this training camp.
Gruden wasn’t concerned on the track record.
“I don’t know if concerned is the word. I think disappointed is the right one,” Gruden said after Monday’s training camp practice. “He comes out to start training camp and he’s in superb shape. He makes a play and suffers a setback. Hopefully he comes back sooner rather than later.
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“Disappointed is the big word, I think. His heart is broken. He has put a lot into this, and he knows he has to stay healthy to get out there.”
Conley wasn’t available for comment after, but posted this on Instagram Stories Friday evening.
“When it rains it pours, and after it pours, the sun shines brighter,” Conley wrote.
The Raiders need him available in the secondary. The Ohio State product is their most talented cornerback, and could form a solid coverage duo with Rashaan Melvin.
They have to be available for that to happen, and Conley’s had buzzard’s luck in that regard since turning pro.