Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is in concussion protocol and didn’t practice Wednesday as the team gets ready to play the Chargers in Week 4.
That could put either veteran Brian Hoyer or rookie Aidan O’Connell in line to start in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Receiver Davante Adams told reporters on Wednesday that going from one QB to the next on the same team isn’t too much of a shift, though he admitted it is “a little weird” to not know who will be calling the signals to start the practice week.
“I mean, we’ve been all working together for so long now, so it’s really not as big of a thing as what it might seem on the outside as far as the adjustment and getting used to going with somebody new,” Adams said in his press conference. “But even within training camp, Jimmy would take a couple of reps and then Hoyer would come in and throw. I caught balls from Aidan in training camp as well.
“So, it’s definitely less than what I’ve caught from 10 [Garoppolo], but we’re making it up right now.”
Adams said Hoyer’s experience “shows in good ways” on the field.
“He has a lot of a lot of obviously maturity and experience and a lot of different little tidbits he can kind of give the younger guys or even Jimmy,” Adams said. “He’s been doing it for a long time as well, but just having been in this system and all those different things like that, it kind of gives them a little bit of a coach’s perspective a little bit mixed with player’s which can be beneficial for whoever is in there.”
It would be a mild surprise if O’Connell started over Hoyer, despite the rookie’s success in the preseason. But Adams noted nothing would be too new with O’Connell in the game.
“I think he’s opened up a lot of eyes since he’s been here coming from Purdue and not being a super highly touted quarterback as far as to my knowledge,” Adams said. “I don’t really pay too much attention to college, but I think he’s surprised a lot of people for what he’s done and he’s shown a lot of poise and some promise for sure. But he’s got to just keep doing what he’s doing and he’ll be well on his way whenever his time comes.”
Through the first three games, Adams has 25 catches for 322 yards with three touchdowns. No matter who’s behind center on Sunday, he figures to be a major part of Las Vegas’ game plan.
The Chargers rushed for 233 yards on 40 carries in the season opener when they had starting running back Austin Ekeler. They have rushed for 91 yards on 36 carries in the two games without him.
Los Angeles needs Ekeler back, and his return to practice Wednesday has everyone hopeful he will be in the lineup Sunday. Ekeler, who has a high-ankle sprain, got in limited work.
He said playing against the Raiders is a “possibility.”
“I can run full speed straight ahead right now,” Ekeler said, Kris Rhim of ESPN. “But if I go turn, that’s where I have been trying to build back towards.”
High-ankle sprains generally take 3-4 weeks to heal, and since the Chargers have a bye in Week 5, it seems likely Ekeler misses another week.
Coach Brandon Staley said the upcoming bye week plays a factor into injury considerations “in some cases” but didn’t specify with Ekeler.
“I’m not at a point where I’ve gone out there and tried to push it 100 percent yet,” Ekeler said. “That’s not how the process works. You continue to build yourself back. It’s kind of like climbing the stairs. You’re not going to just jump straight to the top stair and tell me, ‘Oh yeah, I can make it there.’ You kind of go one-by-one, ‘OK, now we’re progressing towards 100 percent.’ So I haven’t been there yet.”
The Chargers had six injured (or sick) players miss Wednesday’s practice. Outside linebacker Joey Bosa (hamstring/toe) , tight end Gerald Everett (illness), safety Alohi Gilman (heel), safety Derwin James Jr. (hamstring), center Corey Linsley (illness) and linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. (groin) did not participate.
Linebacker Eric Kendricks (hamstring) and offensive tackle Rayshawn Slater (ankle) were limited.
It’s over. It’s been over. And nothing that happened on Tuesday will keep it from being over.
Colin Kaepernick will never play in the NFL again. He’ll never be on a roster, or on a practice squad. It’s done. It’s been done.
Last year’s decision of Raiders owner Mark Davis to give Kaepernick a workout was stunning. But it ultimately went nowhere. Even now, when the Raiders arguably could use another quarterback given Jimmy Garoppolo’s latest injury, it’s highly unlikely that it will happen, with the Raiders or anyone else.
Kaepernick sent a letter to Jets G.M. Joe Douglas last week. The letter was then leaked five days later, presumably after it failed to get Kaepernick an invitation to tryout for the team.
The premise was odd. Kaepernick volunteered to lead the practice squad in order to help the defense prepare each week. The request reflected a gross misunderstanding of how things work on an NFL team. The scout-team quarterback helps prepare the defense, and the scout-team quarterback is selected based on the skills of the next opponent’s quarterback.
It could be the No. 2 quarterback. It could be the No. 3 quarterback. It could be someone who doesn’t even play quarterback. It’s never, each and every week, the “leader” of the practice squad.
The fact that Kaepernick turned the effort into a publicity stunt will not make the Jets any more inclined to give him a chance. The fact that so much time has passed since he last played (January 1, 2017) makes it even less likely that anyone will give him a chance.
It has simply been too long. It has been too long in part because the NFL successfully colluded against and blackballed Kaepernick.
Congratulations, NFL. You won. The effort to keep Kaepernick out lasted long enough that the best argument for not giving him a chance is that it has simply been too long since he played.
That’s the end of the story. The NFL wanted him out. The NFL kept him out. And now, it’s far too long for Kaepernick to get back in.
The Chargers had some positive news on the injury front as Wednesday’s practice began.
Los Angeles running back Austin Ekeler was on the field for the portion of practice open to media, according to multiple reporters on the scene.
Ekeler has missed the last two games with an ankle injury and did not practice for the last two weeks. But being back on Wednesday is a positive sign for his potential availability against the Raiders in Week 4.
But Derwin James, who suffered a hamstring injury during Sunday’s win over the Vikings, was not on the field. Tight end Gerald Everett and linebacker Kenneth Murray also were absent, as was linebacker Eric Kendricks — who has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury.
The Chargers’ full injury report will be released later on Wednesday.
The Dolphins have announced the deaths of former cornerback Tim Foley and former running back Hubert Ginn. Both were members of the 1972 team that went undefeated.
They are the 19th and 20th members of the Perfect Season to die.
Foley died last weekend after a long illness, Dave Hyde of the Sun-Sentinel reports. Foley was 75.
A third-round pick in 1970, Foley spent 11 seasons with the Dolphins. He played 134 games with 110 starts and made 22 interceptions. Foley earned Pro Bowl honors in 1978, the franchise’s first Pro Bowl cornerback.
Foley retired after the 1980 season and went on to become one of Amway’s top producers. He received an Amway award for helping build 54 homes for families in Guatemala.
Ginn was 76.
The Dolphins picked him in the ninth round of the 1970 draft, and he played three seasons in Miami as a backup running back.
The Dolphins traded him to the Colts in 1973, and he played nine games with Baltimore before returning to Miami in 1974. He signed with the Raiders in 1976, and Ginn won a second Super Bowl ring in 1977.
He played 90 career games, with no starts, in nine seasons and rushed for 521 yards and three touchdowns on 132 carries. Ginn also caught nine passes for 49 yards.