Raiders report: Peterman takes full advantage of extra reps
PRESEASON
AT A GLANCE
Schedule
All practices at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, unless noted:
■ Sunday — Off
■ Monday — Practice, 7:30-9:30 a.m
■ Tuesday — Practice, 7:30-9:30 a.m. (Rosters reduced to 85)
■ Wednesday — Joint practice with Los Angeles Rams in Irvine, California.
■ Thursday — Joint practice with Rams in Irvine, California.
■ Friday — Off
■ Saturday — Preseason game vs. Rams, SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, 7 p.m.
Quote of the day
Trey Ragas and BJ Emmons each ran for a touchdown in the 20-7 win over Seattle on Saturday night.
Ragas had 13 carries for 62 yards, with Emmons getting 45 yards on his nine rushes.
Coach Jon Gruden was pleased with the tandem and the depth the team has developed behind Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake.
“Ragas didn’t know how to get in a 3-point stance when he got here,” Gruden said. “Nobody has come further in a shorter period of time than him. He made some really good runs, caught the ball and picked up the blitz. And this Emmons kid, he went to Alabama and Josh Jacobs is like his agent. Josh knew him and told us we better take a look at this guy, and, boy, did we get a look at him tonight. He’s interesting. He’s big, fast and elusive. And he’s got no mileage on him. He’s an unknown, but he’s off to a good start, too, and next week is a new week.”
Play of the day
Zay Jones and Nathan Peterman were part of the same Buffalo Bills draft class in 2017 and are now both on the Raiders.
The familiarity paid off on Saturday night.
Peterman hit Jones three times on the opening drive, including what would hold up as the best play for the Raiders.
On third and 8, Jones dropped a pass to Jones deep down the left sideline just over the shoulder of Seattle cornerback Tre Flowers.
Jones hauled it in for a gain of 28 yards and a first down to keep the drive going. The Raiders eventually punched the ball in from the 1 to take an early lead.
“That’s just a go ball,” Peterman said. “It’s a 50-50 for him. I just put it out there to go make a play. That was all him. It was awesome. It kind of sparked the whole team, so that was cool to see.”
Jones said Peterman just put it in a perfect spot to make the catch easy.
Extra reps
Peterman got a whole lot of work as the top two quarterbacks on the depth chart got the night off in the preseason opener.
Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota were both in uniform and took warmups with the team, but neither took a snap.
Carr sat out with the majority of the regulars. Mariota suffered a leg injury late in last Sunday’s practice at the stadium and has missed the last few days of onfield work. He is expected to return soon, according to Gruden. Case Cookus, who was signed this week, entered on the final offensive snap and handed the ball off.
Peterman, who went 3-for-5 passing last year for the Raiders in his only regular-season action since 2018, took full advantage of the opportunity.
“That was fun after what really feels like almost two years of not playing,” he said.
The 27-year-old Pittsburgh alum completed 29 of 39 passes for 246 yards. More importantly, he led several sustained drives for the offense.
In the first half, the Raiders controlled the ball for 23:12 to just 6:48 for the Seahawks.
“He has really shown some development on the practice field, and he carried it over today,” Gruden said. “I like Nate Peterman.”
Peterman was particularly efficient throwing to Jones, Keelan Doss and D.J. Turner. Of the 17 balls thrown in the direction of that triumvirate, 16 were completed.
Doss had six catches for 55 yards and Turner seven for 43.
Spotted
Former Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez was in the sold-out crowd for the first game with fans at Allegiant Stadium.
Rodriguez was born in New York and raised between the Dominican Republic and Miami, but at least on Saturday night appeared to be a Raiders fan.
The 46-year-old was all decked out in Raiders’ apparel as he took in the action.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
