Former Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs III, the first receiver taken in the 2021 draft, is serving a sentence of three to 10 years after pleading guilty to DUI resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. He’ll soon be eligible for parole.
Via Mark Inabinett of AL.com, Ruggs has initiated the process of seeking his release. He recently appeared before the Nevada Board of Parole on Monday to make his case for early release.
In November 2021, Ruggs collided with a car driven by 23-year-old Tina Tintor. At the time of impact, Ruggs’s Corvette was traveling 127 miles per hour. His blood-alcohol concentration was measured to be 0.161 percent.
“Not a minute goes by where I don’t think of the pain I caused her family, her friends and the Las Vegas community,” Ruggs told the parole board. “I’m a religious person and pray for her family daily.”
Ruggs’s earliest possible parole date is August 5, 2026.
Last year, Ruggs was moved from a minimum-security transitional housing facility to a medium-security prison, due to unspecified rules violations. It’s unknown whether and to what extent those violations will impact his opportunity to receive parole. As of June 2024, Ruggs was working outside the facility, at the Nevada governor’s mansion.
In June 2025, Ruggs made it clear that he would love to return to football. If/when he receives parole, the NFL will have to decide whether he’ll be cleared to sign with a team. If/when he is, a team will have to decide whether to sign him.
In 20 career games, with 19 starts, Ruggs caught 50 passes for 921 yards and four touchdowns. The Raiders released Ruggs on the same day the crash occurred.
USA Football soon will step into the spotlight, when it comes to figuring out the members of the 2028 Olympics flag football team. To assist that process, USA Football has made a key hire.
The sport’s national governing body announced on Thursday that former NFL fullback Marcel Reece has become the group’s Senior Vice President of Football Strategy & Operations.
Per the press release, USA Football explains that Reece now oversees the “football operation, driving the strategy, vision and success of the organization’s national team programs, Olympic and high-performance pathways, scouting and talent identification, athlete development and grassroots growth, as well as USA Football’s events portfolio.”
“In a short time with USA Football, Marcel has already made meaningful contributions to our organization,” USA Football CEO Scott Hallenbeck said. “With the Olympics on the horizon and the game growing at every level, this is exactly the right time to bring him on board full-time. His background as both a player and an executive brings a perspective that is truly unique and will strengthen everything our team has built, positioning us well for 2028 and beyond.”
A three-time Pro Bowler, the 40-year-old Reece primarily played for the Raiders. He spent three years working in the Raiders’ front office.
“Flag football’s Olympic debut in Los Angeles is a historic moment for the sport, and I’m proud to be part of this organization as we prepare for it,” Reece said.
USA Football plans to announce its selection process for the men’s national team for the 2028 Olympics later this year. Reece will now be heavily involved in that process.
The Raiders selected quarterback Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall last month.
But Las Vegas also has Kirk Cousins, who is — at this point — expected to begin the season as the club’s QB1.
As a veteran quarterback who’s familiar with the offensive system, Cousins is showing command at the position, with the Raiders getting their OTAs started this week.
“Yeah, he’s a professional. He’s played a lot of football. He’s a leader that we’re counting on right now,” Kubiak told reporters on Wednesday. “You see that side of him when it gets competitive, that was fun to get that move the ball period and get guys off of scripts and see how they respond, and you see the fire come out, and that’s what I want from our guys.”
Given that it’s still May, Kubiak has not yet officially named a starting quarterback. But he noted that the players will be the ones to really make that decision.
“It’s going to reveal itself, especially in training camp,” Kubiak said. “But it’s going to reveal itself here in these next how many do we have? Eight OTAs, these minicamp practices. But yeah, we definitely would [like to name a QB], but [we’ll] let the players figure that out for us with their tape.”
With Atlanta last season, Cousins completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,721 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty came into the league with high expectations last season, but he didn’t quite reach them during a dismal year in Las Vegas.
Jeanty averaged 3.7 yards per carry and only had four games when he picked up more than 100 yards from scrimmage. Some of the blame for his struggles could be attributed to an offensive line that didn’t offer many holes and poor quarterback play that did little to open up the field, but there’s not much to do to dress up what was a disappointing rookie campaign.
On Wednesday, Jeanty discussed his hope for better results in Year 2 and said that drilling down on what he’s seeing on the field has helped him feel more prepared for what’s coming his way in Year 2.
“Just focusing in more on the details, what the defense is doing, how we’re blocking things, coverage, all that type of stuff,” Jeanty said, via the team’s website. “So, it’s definitely slowing down, and I think it’s also just repetition as well. The more you rep it, the more the game slows down.”
The Raiders hope that they’ve solved some of the other issues that made them the lowest-scoring team in the league last year and a jump forward for Jeanty would be a welcome jolt as well.
The Raiders drafted Fernando Mendoza to be their quarterback of the future. The No. 1 overall pick has been “as advertised” thus far, coach Klint Kubiak said Wednesday.
"[He has] not disappointed,” Kubiak said, via Ryan McFadden of ESPN. “He’s working his tail off. It’s very important to him that he asks a lot of great questions when he gets on the field. He’s no B.S.; he’s all ball.”
The Raiders are easing Mendoza into the offense, with Kirk Cousins taking first-team reps, followed by Aidan O’Connell and then Mendoza.
Kubiak has repeatedly said he would prefer that a rookie quarterback not start Day 1, and the sportsbooks like Cousins to start Week 1. But the Raiders are giving Mendoza every chance to win the job.
Mendoza is going the extra mile, putting in the work, asking questions and taking notes.
“Anything that you put in front of him, he’s going to attack it,” Kubiak said. “Anything new, he spends extra time on. You can tell he fixes things from one day to the next.”
