Raiders’ Report: Henry Ruggs’ empty locker moved Derek Carr

RAIDERS REPORT

Schedule

All practices at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, unless noted:

■ Thursday — Practice, 11:30 a.m.

■ Friday — Practice, 11:30 a.m.

■ Saturday — Off

■ Sunday — at New York Giants, Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, 10 a.m.

Quote of the day

Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr and interim coach Rich Bisaccia both made sure to be perfectly clear their thoughts were with the deceased victim in the Henry Ruggs’ crash and her family.

But they’re also still processing that Ruggs is now a former member of the organization and the career of a blossoming young star all but ended on Tuesday morning.

It’s all part of a whirlwind of emotions those inside the Raiders’ facility have been going through as they process the senseless tragedy.

“I walked by, and I saw Henry’s locker today and for whatever reason that got me,” Carr said after practice. “He’s not going to be there.”

Neither Carr nor Bisaccia had been in contact with Ruggs. Bisaccia said he would keep private what he plans to say if and when he does speak to him.

Carr said he just wasn’t sure whether he even could speak to Ruggs yet, but sounds as if he does plan on doing so at some point.

“I will always be here for him,” Carr said. “That won’t change.”

Injury report

The Raiders got a bit of good news on the field Wednesday as the entire active roster was able to practice in full.

Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (neck) and guard John Simpson (knee) were the only players listed on the shortest injury report of the season, but both players were able to get in a full session.

The bye week worked wonders for the health of a team that has been ravaged by injuries for much of the season.

“We’re clean today,” Bisaccia said. “I was pretty fired up about that.”

Star tight end Darren Waller missed the game against Philadelphia with an ankle injury, but he was on the practice field and wasn’t mentioned on the injury report.

Transactions

After Ruggs was released on Tuesday night, the Raiders were left with just 50 players on the active roster.

One of the three open spots was filled on Wednesday with the addition of linebacker Marquel Lee to the active roster. Lee was a fifth-round pick of the Raiders in 2017 and was with the organization until he was released with an injury designation before the start of the 2020 season.

He spent this offseason with the Bills and has been on both the practice squad and active roster for the Raiders over the last two months.

Reserve quarterback Nathan Peterman was also brought back to the practice squad Wednesday after clearing waivers. He was released from the active roster on Tuesday.

Wide receiver Marcell Ateman was also brought back to the practice squad. Offensive lineman Dan Skipper was released from the practice squad to make space.

Managing the process

Bisaccia and other team officials gathered the players for a Zoom meeting around 4 p.m. on Tuesday to inform them of all the details they knew about the Ruggs’ crash, especially with all the false rumors on social media.

The players assembled again for a team meeting early Wednesday, hours after the decision was made to release Ruggs.

“We addressed some of the new information that came out, which we thought would all come out at (Ruggs’ hearing), which I think has now,” Bisaccia said. “So, they got a chance to see that and then we just talked about what our charge is going forward, individually and then collectively. “

He said the key is to make sure everyone is on the same page each step of the way as the organization tries to navigate these trying times one step at a time.

Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal