5 things to watch as Raiders prepare to open training camp

The Raiders officially report to training camp Tuesday, and plenty of questions abound.

Here are five things to keep an eye on on the eve of camp:

1. Jimmy Garoppolo’s availability

The lowdown: The status of veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who signed a three-year, $72.7 million contract with the Raiders in March, remains up in the air.

He has not passed a physical since undergoing surgery in March for a foot injury suffered in December with the 49ers. If he can’t eventually pass a physical, his contract could be nullified.

The Raiders are publicly and privately optimistic that won’t happen, and Garoppolo will be good to go to start the season. But that still remains to be seen. And even if he checks out fine upon reporting to camp Sunday, that doesn’t mean he will be given the green light to start training camp Wednesday.

The Raiders may opt to ease him into the fray by using the physically unable to perform (PUP) list to give him more time before being fully cleared.

Keep an eye on: Whether it starts on the first day or later in camp, the process of getting Garoppolo and his offensive teammates on the same page will be critical to the Raiders getting off to a good start this season. Also, rookie Aidan O’Connell has a chance to unseat Brian Hoyer as the primary backup to Garoppolo, depending on his progress through camp and the preseason.

2. Jakobi Meyers and the revamped receiver room

The lowdown: After going through a season in which slot receiver Hunter Renfrow missed seven games and never seemed to get on track and tight end Darren Waller played just nine games, the Raiders opted to make big changes at wide receiver and tight end.

Waller was traded to the Giants, and his backup, Foster Moreau, left as a free agent to New Orleans. Wide receiver Mack Hollins departed as a free agent to Atlanta.

In their place are wide receivers Jakobi Meyers, DeAndre Carter, Tre Tucker, Phillip Dorsett and Cam Sims and tight ends Austin Hooper, Michael Mayer and O.J. Howard.

Meyers goes from being the No. 1 receiver in New England to No. 2 in Las Vegas alongside Davante Adams. Assuming Renfrow is healthy, those three are expected to get the bulk of the snaps, with Carter, Tucker, Dorsett and potentially Sims providing situational production.

Keep an eye on: An interesting camp subplot revolves around Renfrow. Will he fit in with the new additions, or will the Raiders consider trading him? Also, how quickly will Mayer, the Raiders’ rookie second-round draft pick, push Hooper for the starting role?

3. Cornerback competition

The lowdown: An already retooled cornerback room is expected to add another new face soon in veteran Marcus Peters. The Raiders and Peters will meet for the second time Monday at their Henderson practice facility, and he is expected to officially come on board.

If so, he becomes the odds-on favorite to claim one of the perimeter cornerback jobs, most likely opposite Nate Hobbs, a third-year player whose 2022 season was knocked off course by a broken hand. Hobbs was making the transition from slot cornerback to the perimeter last season, and he will get another crack at it this year.

The other cornerback options include holdovers Amik Robertson and Sam Webb, rookie Jakorian Bennett, whom the Raiders drafted in the fourth round in April, and free-agent additions Duke Shelley, Brandon Facyson and David Long.

Keep an eye on: Tyler Hall emerged late last season after being called up from the practice squad and put himself in a great position to win the starting job in the slot. Will he claim that job?

4. Josh Jacobs and the door that opened for Zamir White

The lowdown: Running back Josh Jacobs is not expected to participate in training camp, at least not the first leg of it, after failing to come to terms on a long-term contract. The Raiders are hopeful he will eventually sign his $10.09 million franchise tag tender and play a full season.

In the meantime, a huge door opens up for a pair of young running backs the Raiders invested draft picks in last year.

Zamir White, a fourth-round pick from Georgia, was limited to just 17 carries during his rookie season, but he will get the lion’s share of first-team reps in training camp. White can quell a lot of anxiety if he embraces the opportunity.

Brittain Brown, who was drafted in the seventh round out of UCLA last year, is another youngster the Raiders want to get a lengthy look at, and his reps will also increase in Jacobs’ absence.

Keep an eye on: Whether it’s this season or down the road, the Raiders need to come up with a post-Jacobs contingency plan, which makes the next month or so vital for White and Brown.

5. Defensive line rotation

The lowdown: The Raiders have nearly completely turned over their defensive line room over the past 24 months, going from a group that relied far too much on veterans on one-year contracts to one that features seven players 27 and younger under multiyear contractual control.

The question now is, can the young line deliver more heat on the quarterback compared to last year’s group?

Maxx Crosby and a slimmed-down Chandler Jones are givens as perimeter defensive ends, and the steady Bilal Nichols has the inside track on one of the interior starting jobs. Beyond that, expect a camp-long battle to determine the fourth starter and the remaining pieces of a rotation that could extend eight players deep.

Rookie defensive end Tyree Wilson, coming off a foot injury late last season at Texas Tech, and fellow first-year defensive lineman Byron Young will start training camp on the sidelines. In Wilson’s case, his designation to the non-football injury list is out of caution as he returns from the injury, but the Raiders desperately need him to hit big this season as a perimeter pass rusher.

Inside, the Raiders need Young and a pair of 2022 draft picks — Neil Farrell and Matthew Butler — to provide reliable play. Veterans Jerry Tillery, Adam Butler and John Jenkins are also in the mix.

Keep an eye on: The Raiders are high on Farrell, their second-year product out of Louisiana State, and they need him to step up alongside Nichols as a run-stopping lineman capable of also getting pressure on the quarterback.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.