What to focus on when Raiders practice against Rams

Thousand Oaks, Calif. — Away from the heat and comforts of home, the Raiders begin a set of joint practices against the Rams in Ventura County. The teams will work out together on Wednesday and Thursday before facing each other in a preseason game on Saturday at SoFi Stadium.

Coming off two days of practice against the 49ers last week, culminating with a 34-7 win over San Francisco at Allegiant Stadium, the Raiders want to use this week to continue to set the foundation for their 2023 season.

Here are three key questions they hope to answer when the Rams welcome the Raiders to their practice facility at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

Who will be back at practice this week?

Not unusual for this time of year, the Raiders are dealing with bumps and bruises to key players.

Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow and Michael Mayer, three of their key offensive players, have all been sidelined recently with injuries.

Adams injured his leg during last Friday’s joint practice against the 49ers when he absorbed a big hit trying to catch a pass from Jimmy Garoppolo. He eventually limped to the locker room. When last seen he was wearing a sleeve on his right leg ahead of the Raiders’ preseason game against San Francisco. Adams did not warm up on Sunday with his teammates and was never in uniform.

Adams rarely misses practices, but the Raiders will be careful with their star wide receiver. He’ll have to make a convincing case to them to get back on the field this week.

Renfrow missed Friday’s practice for undisclosed reasons and was not in uniform during warmups on Sunday. A standout in camp, the Raiders would like Renfrow to continue to build on the momentum he’s built in trying to rebound from an uneven season in 2022. But they won’t rush the process if he isn’t ready.

Mayer has been sidelined after suffering an injury in practice nine days ago. A person with knowledge of the situation indicated the rookie tight end is more of a day-to-day situation, but there is no doubt the Raiders need him back on the field to expedite his transition to the NFL.

How will offensive line respond to big challenge?

In Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, the Raiders’ offensive line will be asked to deal with a steady dose of a relentless force who approaches every practice rep as if it was the Super Bowl.

Donald, who lines up everywhere at the line of scrimmage, will challenge the Raiders at every point along their offensive line. A particular focus will be on the right side, where Jermaine Eluemunor is trying to ward off Thayer Munford for the right tackle spot and Alex Bars is in a battle with Greg Van Roten at right guard.

Can Jimmy Garoppolo build off recent momentum?

After a shaky start to training camp after spending nearly seven months rehabbing from a broken foot that required off-season surgery, the Raiders’ new quarterback has settled in recently by stringing together a slew of solid practices.

Garoppolo isn’t likely to play on Saturday, so the next two days will be important for his continued acclimation to his new team.

Garoppolo was efficient working against the 49ers’ first-team defense last week. He took care of the ball and generated multiple scoring drives in 11-on-11 work.

The Rams aren’t nearly where they were two years ago in overall talent, but they still have a solid defense, and Donald figures to win enough battles up front to generate pressure on Garoppolo.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.