Raiders’ Gabe Jackson might avoid injured reserve to start season

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Raiders starting right guard Gabe Jackson will miss the first two weeks of the season, but coach Jon Gruden said Jackson might not be placed on injured reserve.

Gruden said Tuesday that Jackson’s rehab is going well after he suffered a knee injury during one of the Raiders’ joint practices with the Los Angeles Rams this month.

“I see him walking around, which is a great sign,” Gruden said. “I don’t know when he’s going to be ready. I don’t even know if we’re going to put him on IR, honestly. But his progress has been good, and we’ll see where we are after the Seahawks game to make that final determination.”

Jackson is a key member of an offensive line that’s expected to be improved with the addition of right tackle Trent Brown and left guard Richie Incognito.

A third-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Jackson has been a regular starter since his rookie season. If he goes on injured reserve to start the season, he would miss the first eight weeks before becoming one of two players designated to return.

Backup linemen Jordan Devey and Denzelle Good are the primary candidates to replace Jackson at right guard. Since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2013, Devey has spent time with the Ravens, Patriots, 49ers and Chiefs. Good underwent back surgery in the offseason but has returned to practice.

Brown vs. Roethlisberger

Raiders receiver Antonio Brown posted and then deleted a tweet on Tuesday furthering his feud with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Brown’s tweet quoted an interview Roethlisberger did for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” broadcast of the preseason game between the Steelers and Titans. Roethlisberger said he regretted calling out Brown during a radio interview last season after a loss to the Broncos because it destroyed a friendship.

Brown’s now-deleted post said in response: “Never friends just had to get my ends…….shut up already.”

The falling out between the two was one of many reasons that Brown became available on the trade market and ended up with the Raiders.

Don’t expect to see starters

As expected, Gruden said he’s not planning on playing starters in the Raiders’ preseason finale Thursday at the Seattle Seahawks.

“There will be some guys who have a full slate ahead of themselves, and some guys will not play at all,” Gruden said. “But the guys that do play will be given a great opportunity to improve their resumes.”

Gruden has said that there are potentially four to six undrafted free agents who could make the 53-man roster. But he added Tuesday that the exact amount of spots will depend on the Raiders’ injury situation after Thursday’s game.

All NFL teams must reduce their rosters from 90 to 53 by 1 p.m. Pacific time Saturday.

When to challenge pass interference

While talking about downfield passing, Gruden mentioned that the Raiders can challenge plays to see if there’s pass interference and still get yardage that way.

But Gruden doesn’t necessarily sound like a big fan of the new rule.

“I’ve always felt — right or wrong — that pass interference should call itself. We should all be sitting there watching the game and go, ‘That’s PI.’ And if it’s close, you don’t call it,” Gruden said. “I don’t want to split hairs and watch super duper, quadruple slow-mo to see if it is or isn’t. To me, that’s irrational and insane.”

Injury updates

Gruden said defensive tackle Justin Ellis is out indefinitely because of a knee injury.

The same goes for defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes, who has a concussion.

Defensive end Maxx Crosby has been practicing with a cast covering the hand he broke in the Raiders’ first preseason game against the Rams. But Gruden said the team thinks Crosby will have a different cast that will let him use his fingers by the start of the season.

Brown has been excused from the last two days of practice to tend to a personal matter, Gruden said.

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Contact Myles Simmons at msimmons@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @MylesASimmons on Twitter.