Sporting News NFL writer Alex Marvez is touring training camps with SiriusXM NFL Radio. Here are some tidbits from Alex’s stop at Oakland Raiders camp with his co-host Gil Brandt.



NAPA, Calif. — How truly concerned is the NFL about the health and safety of its players?

Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio has reason to wonder.

Del Rio is still furious about the 2016 schedule given his team. The part that angers him the most: The Raiders must travel to Kansas City for a Week 13 Thursday night matchup four days after hosting Buffalo on Dec. 4.

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“I don’t understand how anybody would make this kind of schedule and ask you to do this,” Del Rio said after Sunday's practice. “We’re going to Kansas City on four days rest, which is two time zones. I don’t know how often that occurs in the league, but it’s something that should be avoided at all costs.

“It’s hard enough to play on four days' rest, much less traveling a couple of time zones.”

When I sarcastically mentioned the league’s public relations push to emphasize improved player safety, Del Rio responded, “Somehow that was left behind.”

Howard Katz, who helps oversee the NFL’s schedule-making process, told co-host Gil Brandt and me last October on SiriusXM NFL Radio that, “Thursday night games are really complicated because we try to make sure that on the short weeks teams are playing without any great geographic disparities.

“We play mostly division games now on Thursday night,” Katz continued. “We also try to make sure we’ve got adequate separation between clubs for Thursday night games and the bye week. We try to make sure they’re four weeks (apart) to give teams two breaks from a health-and-safety standpoint.”

Oakland’s bye will come on the weekend of Nov. 13, which is 25 days before the Kansas City game.

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Overall, Del Rio said the Raiders have “a hell of a schedule if you look at it.” Among the biggest challenges: Two other AFC West road games in the final three weeks of the season and the inherent disadvantage for a West Coast team to have five 1 p.m. kickoffs on games in the Eastern or Central time zones.

One plus for the Raiders: Oakland will have four consecutive home games sandwiched around the bye prior to the Chiefs showdown. Plus, at least the Raiders on paper seem prepared to make a strong run at ending a playoff drought that dates to the club’s Super Bowl XXXVII season in 2002.

“It’s so important to have depth,” said Del Rio, who posted a 7-9 record in his first season as Oakland’s head coach. “The demands of the league and the schedule you go through in the fall require that you have depth and strength. We’re working hard to do just that, to become a strong football team that has depth and the ability to withstand a demanding schedule.”

Leaders wanted: I’m told Seattle is waiting for a linebacker to step up in matching the leadership and intensity once brought to the team by Bruce Irvin, who left the Seahawks for Oakland during the offseason.

“I had a great four years in Seattle,” said Irvin, who signed a four-year, $37 million contract with the Raiders. “Pretty much, I know the blueprint and the pedigree of being on a No. 1 defense. I’ve been to a Super Bowl twice. In Seattle we made playoffs all four years. I know what it feels like. I know what we’ve got to do.

“I’m a very outspoken person. If I’ve got something to say, I’m going to say it. That’s the biggest thing. I’m not going to step on your toes, but if I’ve got something to say you will hear it from me.”

Irvin’s NFL pedigree could go a long way in helping the Raiders replace the leadership void created by the offseason retirement of safety Charles Woodson.

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“Bruce brings that sense of brotherhood,” Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack said. “He speaks about guys over in Seattle and how they were his brothers. Their defense was all on the same page and wanted to dominate. He brings that mentality and will and insight. It’s not the exact same way, but he’s collaborating with me and other defensive guys like Reggie (Nelson) and the younger guys coming up.”

Del Rio said Irvin has “really done a great job. Being himself, he’s come in here and made his mark. The intensity and defensive mentality, I love that part.”

As for the Raiders on the whole replacing Woodson’s leadership, Del Rio said, “What I see is a lot of guys who were leaning on him and counting on him to carry things have all realized he’s not here. They need to step it up and do it themselves.”

New roommates: The bond between Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and wide receiver Amari Cooper should grow even stronger this summer as the two requested to room together during training camp.

“You don’t realize how much you don’t know about someone until you start talking to them,” said Cooper, who caught 72 passes for 1,020 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie in 2015. “We’ve been able to talk more, talk about each other as a person and the plays that we run.

“We talk about how I will want him to throw the ball. He talks about where he would like to throw the ball so we can have a better understanding. That’s one of the things I meant when I said I feel more comfortable this year. I know where he’s going to throw the ball on certain routes.”

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A hot ticket: To show how much Oakland’s fortunes have changed, I’m told the franchise sold only 19,000 season tickets for the 2010 season. The 2016 Raiders have sold out their season-ticket allotment (roughly 50,000 seats) for the first time in franchise history.

A trimmer Janikowski: I’m told Sebastian Janikowski arrived at camp 10 pounds lighter than the reporting weight set by the Raiders. Listed at 6-1 and 265 pounds, Janikowski is entering his 17th season with Oakland.

The NFL record for continuous service with one team is 20 seasons, set by Jackie Slater with the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams (1976-2005). Janikowski, 36, has a legitimate shot at breaking the mark, which would further justify the decision of late Raiders owner Al Davis to use a first-round draft choice in 2000 on a kicker — a position that hasn’t had a player chosen so early since.

Promising rookies: While the Raiders are lacking experienced depth at running back after last week’s placement of Roy Helu Jr. on injured reserve, I’m told Oakland is bullish on two rookies in fifth-round pick DeAndre Washington and the undrafted Jalen Richard. Signed as a college free agent, the 5-8, 204-pound Richard rushed for 1,098 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior at Southern Miss. Four of those scores covered at least 53 yards.

One tough guy: Finally, offensive line coach Mike Tice is gutting out camp, having to wear a sizeable leg brace during practice after tearing his quadriceps in a mishap earlier this summer. Tice’s addition to Del Rio’s coaching staff in 2015 proved a significant one after the improvement of Oakland’s offensive line.