Raiders report: Defensive line likes progress but sees room for improvement

Raiders report

All practices at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, unless noted:

Saturday — Practice, 11 a.m.

Sunday — Off

Monday — At Los Angeles Chargers, 5:15 p.m. (KSNV-3, ESPN)

Quote of the day

Defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson is a big body who has had a big impact on the Raiders’ defense in his first season.

It might not be entirely surprising that the 6-foot-4-inch, 290-pounder used some food analogies to describe why the defensive line has had so much success getting after quarterbacks.

“It takes all of us to eat, so it can’t be just one guy on the hunt,” he said of the team’s depth. “We just all make sure we’re on the same page, working at levels. Me, (Solomon Thomas, Darius Philon) and whoever is in there make sure we get that push.

“It all seems to be coming together. We left a lot of meat on the bone last week, but it’s still coming together good.”

Injury report

Running back Josh Jacobs again got in a limited practice Friday and has a chance to play Monday.

Jacobs has been on the field two consecutive days after missing the past two games with an ankle injury. More will be known Saturday when the final injury report is released with game status designations.

Thomas (knee) and cornerback Nate Hobbs (shoulder) practiced in full Friday after getting in limited work Thursday.

Cornerback Trayvon Mullen (shoulder) and safety Roderic Teamer (ankle) remained limited.

Star receiver Keenan Allen remained limited with an ankle injury for the Chargers.

Wright stuff

Linebacker K.J. Wright saw his usage drop for a second consecutive week against the Dolphins.

The former Seahawks star played 54 percent of the defensive snaps in the opener against Baltimore before getting in on just 22 plays in Week 2 at Pittsburgh, which amounted to 39 percent of the defensive plays.

Wright played on just 11 snaps against Miami, a season-low of 11 percent of the defensive snaps.

Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley cautioned against reading too much into the decline in Wright’s usage.

“It was just some of the personnel they had in the game and how we wanted to play it,” Bradley said of the past two games. “He’s been playing very well for us, so we need to continue to get him on the field. Good things happen when he’s out there.”

Mixed signals

Bradley and several of his defensive players will be facing many familiar faces Monday.

While there is a new coaching staff for the Chargers, there is enough familiarity that Bradley might have to change up some of his calls and verbiage.

“I think you have to be aware of that,” he said. “I’m sure there’s conversations, just like we talk about their personnel. You have banked experiences, and so there’s some staff members that are there. We’re well aware of that and understand the game within the game as well.”

Barber’s role

While there is optimism Jacobs could play, offensive coordinator Greg Olson said Peyton Barber has earned a role.

“We’re extremely excited about Peyton, not just on the performance last week but also on the practice field,” Olson said. “Not only has he shown the ability to run hard and understand the scheme we’re asking him to run into, but he’s also a very intelligent player. He had some nice blitz pickups last week. We like what we’ve seen this far. It’s a one-game sample with us, but we liked what we saw in Washington and what he was doing there. We feel like we’ve got a good player there, and we’re excited to see him continue to develop.”

Adam Hill Review-Journal