Raiders’ rebuilt offensive line braces for Rams’ Aaron Donald

The Raiders return to practice Tuesday after getting two straight days off from their morning workouts.

A busy week awaits them as they continue their march toward the Sept. 13 opener against the Baltimore Ravens on “Monday Night Football.” It includes a two-day joint practice session with the Los Angeles Rams, a team being touted as a Super Bowl contender, and Saturday’s exhibition game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

That means plenty of work for the Raiders’ rebuilt offensive line against a Rams defensive line featuring All-Pro Aaron Donald, considered the NFL’s best lineman.

“That will give us some additional experience against another opponent,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said.

The Raiders’ offensive line features new starters at right tackle, right guard and center. Two of them — rookie right tackle Alex Leatherwood and center Andre James — played almost the entire first quarter and were solid during a preseason win over the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday at Allegiant Stadium.

The Raiders scored on both of their first-quarter drives. Each was a prolonged march.

“We had a 14-play drive and a 17-play drive, and we had 52 snaps in the first half,” Gruden said. “Somebody was blocking.”

Leatherwood, the 17th overall pick in April’s draft, has been progressing nicely in camp and didn’t appear overwhelmed Saturday. He didn’t win every rep, but he seemed prepared in his first game.

“The whole objective was to get some experience and playing live-action in an NFL game, and I feel like I got some valuable playing time,” Leatherwood said. “I wasn’t perfect. I’ve got a lot of reps to learn from.”

It helped that Seahawks coach Pete Carroll bucked conventional wisdom by calling blitzes throughout the game.

“Great to get that experience and get those looks and learn from it,” Leatherwood said.

Now comes two full practices against the Rams.

While the game has plenty of merit for a group of Raiders trying to secure spots on the 53-man roster and practice roster, the Rams rarely play their starters during the preseason and the Raiders probably will use their key players sparingly, if at all.

The real benefit is Wednesday’s and Thursday’s practices during which the Rams and Raiders starters should be full participants. Unlike preseason games, when coaches are beholden to the pace, rhythm and situations of a game relative to managing playing time, the coordinated aspect of joint practices means a much more controlled environment from which to utilize reps.

For instance, if Gruden’s plan for the second preseason game is to get his starters one quarter of work, the pace of the game could mean the starting offense getting only a handful of plays.

In a joint practice, Gruden and Rams coach Sean McVay will script both days in a way that creates sufficient first-team against first-team reps in situations ranging from four-minute drills, two-minute drills and red zone drills.

The controlled nature, coupled with a toned-down aggressiveness in terms of tackles, makes for a beneficial and safe two days of work.

“We want to try to get out of camp healthy and keep the right 53 men,” Gruden said. “We also want to be physical and ready to play. We have a lot to accomplish, and we have to be creative in how we do business.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore onTwitter.