Raiders training camp: Defense leads the way on Day 2

COSTA MESA, Calif. — The second day of Raiders training camp saw the defense create turnovers Thursday and take over the 11-on-11 portion of practice, as both quarterbacks struggled.

Gardner Minshew struggled as he threw two interceptions, Marcus Epps quickly jumped on a pass for the first, then Jakorian Bennett tipped another pass to Tre’von Moehrig for the second pick of the day.

When talking about the competition under center, Jack Jones jokingly compared the two different playing styles O’Connell and Minshew provide.

“Aidan wants to be more like Tom Brady and Minshew wants to be more like Patrick Mahomes,” Jones said.

While it is very early in the process, Jones took Thursday’s results as a step in the right direction for the defense.

”I think it was very important because if you can’t stop a team in the red zone then the defense is cooked,” Jones said.

While Minshew was credited for the two turnovers, Aidan O’Connell didn’t exactly have a great day either.

O’Connell missed most of his throws during the 11-on-11 period but he did hit Harrison Bryant and Jakobi Meyers for a touchdown each during 7-on-7 drills.

'Kermit' Patrick Mahomes

Mahomes’ name was brought up again after a fan brought a Kermit The Frog puppet dressed as Mahomes, rocking a Chiefs jersey and a wig with a similar hairstyle, which found its way to Trey Taylor upon the conclusion of practice Thursday.

While the Mahomes puppet was not made by anyone on the team specifically, the image of Raiders players fooling around with it will certainly add fuel to the already well-lit fire leading up to the first matchup of the season between the division rivals on Oct. 27.

In reality, though, the rivalry never really cools off, as Mahomes’ personal trainer, Bobby Stroupe, had a direct response to the video of the doll mocking his client: “We will remember.”

Injury updates / roster moves

Raiders general manager Tom Telesco provided injury updates for left tackle Kolton Miller and 2024 second-round pick, guard, Jackson Powers-Johnson, two linemen that are projected to be vital to the Raiders up front this season.

He said both players should be back in action sooner rather than later as Miller recovers from a shoulder surgery he received during the offseason and Powers-Johnson heals from a shoulder he injured during OTA’s. 

Telesco said he expects Miller back in “a couple weeks” while Powers-Johnson should be back in the “short term.”

Both players were on the active/physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp. If Powers-Johnson returns in the coming days, he will have plenty of time to earn a starting guard spot. 

Meanwhile, if Miller returns around mid-August he should be ready to go by Week 1. But if there are any setbacks and he isn’t ready to practice by Aug. 27, when the initial 53-man roster is set, he would have to miss the first four games.

Veteran defensive tackle John Jenkins has missed both days of training camp so far for undisclosed reasons.

Newly signed members of the team, Corey Luciano and Keelan Doss, joined the team for Thursday's practice. Doss nearly had a touchdown pass from O’Connell during the 11-on-11 session, but was out of bounds.