Raiders report: GM provides update on injured offensive linemen

COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Raiders expect to have one injured offensive lineman back in the near future.

They could be waiting for another one for a while.

General manager Tom Telesco said Thursday that rookie second-round pick Jackson Powers-Johnson should be activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list and return to practice in the next few days. The former Oregon standout was limited during the Raiders’ organized team activities with an undisclosed injury and hasn’t practiced the first two days of training camp.

Powers-Johnson is expected to compete for the starting job at left guard.

Starting left tackle Kolton Miller’s return isn’t as imminent. The veteran, who is also on the PUP list, is recovering from an offseason shoulder surgery to address an injury that limited him down the stretch last year.

Telesco didn’t offer a timeline for Miller’s return. Telesco also didn’t express any concern that Miller could miss the start of the season.

“Just following the process,” Telesco said. “Hopefully in a couple of weeks we can kind of start working him in. But we’ll play it by ear.”

The Raiders were prepared to start training camp without Powers-Johnson and Miller. The absence of veteran wide receiver Michael Gallup was much more of a curveball.

Gallup, who signed with the Raiders as a free agent in April, informed the team shortly before camp he intended to retire.

“I didn’t see that one coming at all,” Telesco said. “That just kind of came up out of the blue. When I talked to him, it seemed like he had a pretty clear vision. He’s ready to move on. It’s too bad.”

The Raiders brought back wide receiver Keelan Doss, who spent last season with Telesco and the Chargers, after learning of Gallup’s decision to step away. Doss was a breakout star as an undrafted free agent when the Raiders were featured on “Hard Knocks” in 2019.

“He’s kind of a younger veteran,” Telesco said. “I just wanted to make sure we got somebody else in here because, like I said, we weren’t expecting the Gallup thing that just happened.”

QB battle continues

Raiders coach Antonio Pierce cautioned reporters Tuesday to not get too caught up in the daily performance of the two quarterbacks fighting to be the team’s starter.

That probably won’t prevent it from happening.

Veteran Gardner Minshew took the first reps in each drill Thursday after second-year pro Aidan O’Connell did so Wednesday. Neither player had a banner day Thursday, though one took better care of the ball.

Minshew completed six of his 11 passes, though two of his throws were intercepted. O’Connell connected on four of his eight attempts while throwing mostly underneath.

“There could be some days where Aidan will be better than Gardner and some days Gardner (will be better),” Pierce said Tuesday. “And then some days they both look bad, some days they both look good, to be honest.”

Play of the day

Tight ends Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer have drawn plenty of hype this offseason. Understandably so, after the Raiders selected Mayer in the second round in 2023 and Bowers 13th overall in April’s draft.

Another tight end stole the show Thursday, however.

Harrison Bryant got open in the back of the end zone during a seven-on-seven drill and laid out for a spectacular catch on an O’Connell throw. The play brought the crowd to its feet and triggered a celebration from Bryant’s offensive teammates.

Bryant scored 10 touchdowns in four seasons with the Browns before signing with the Raiders in March.

Poking the bear?

A silly moment at Raiders’ training camp drew a quick response from a rival’s inner circle Thursday.

One fan brought a Kermit the Frog puppet to practice that was dressed up as Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whose voice has often been mocked for sounding similar to the Muppet’s. They tossed the toy on the field at one point when players were signing autographs.

Rookie safety Trey Taylor appeared to try to humor the fan by placing the puppet on his hand. He then laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

Not everyone was amused. A quick video of Taylor playing with the puppet went viral and drew the attention of Mahomes’ longtime personal trainer, Bobby Stroupe.

“We will remember,” Stroupe wrote on social media with a link to the video.

The Chiefs visit Allegiant Stadium on Oct. 27 for the first of two meetings between the teams.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.