Raiders’ new quarterback held out of practice Friday

In a clear sign that Jimmy Garoppolo is still on the mend from the broken foot he suffered last season and the subsequent surgery he underwent in March, the Raiders’ new quarterback did not practice Friday.

Just two days into training camp, Garoppolo was already sidelined.

It’s not ideal, this will be the norm moving forward, someone with knowledge of the situation pointed out. The Raiders already have a plan in place to give Garoppolo periodic days off throughout training camp.

The goal, of course, is to put him in the best possible position to be completely healed by the time the Raiders kick off their season against the Broncos on Sept. 10.

If that means sacrificing some on-field practice time, so be it.

Garoppolo hinted at something along those lines shortly after his first practice Wednesday. He admitted that he was “not fully there yet” in terms of his comeback, but that he and the Raiders’ training staff are “working in the right direction.”

Part of that means managing Garoppolo’s work schedule.

Coach Josh McDaniels said earlier this week that the Raiders are playing the long game with their new quarterback, just as they would with anyone coming off an injury.

“There’s a number of players obviously that had things in the spring and making sure that we’re just smart about how we re-integrate them to the totality of practice,” McDaniels said.

As an example, Raiders wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, who missed time during OTAs and minicamp with an undisclosed injury, also did not practice Friday. According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Meyers and Garoppolo are among several players who will be on management plans throughout camp.

“We’ll do it the right way,” McDaniels said.

That said, given Garoppolo’s injury history and his importance to the Raiders as they transition from longtime quarterback Derek Carr, the stir his absence caused Friday was understandable.

Garoppolo and the Raiders are already playing a little bit of catch-up after he missed all of OTAs and minicamp rehabbing from the injury, a fact that dawned on Raiders center Andre James at one point during the offseason.

“I was thinking, ‘Man I haven’t snapped (the ball) to him yet,’” he said.

The first time James and Garoppolo actually conducted a center-quarterback exchange?

“Two days ago,” James said, laughing.

While it might seem like a relatively small thing, James said it would be a mistake to underestimate the intricacies involved.

“Every quarterback and center, there’s little tweaks here and there you gotta go through,” James said. “We’re kind of in that growing space right now.”

Garoppolo agrees.

“The center and me, we just got to be on the same page, especially with … protections and things like that,” Garoppolo said. “Just getting the cadence and him feeling my rhythm with the cadence, I think it’ll take time.”

The Raiders have a little more than six weeks to complete that process, among many others involving Garoppolo and his new teammates.

But the Raiders won’t rush things at the expense of an even bigger quest: making sure their new quarterback is as healthy as possible to not just start the season, but get through it.

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