Raiders Minicamp: Helmet Shield Earned

The Las Vegas Raiders players are now fully uniformed.

The team began its mandatory minicamp on Tuesday morning and players had the Raiders’ famous shield logo on their helmets. The team went through the entire OTA field session work without the shiieds on their helmets.

First-time head coach Klint Kubiak said the roster must earn their the right to don the shield for with their work on and off the field.

Apparently, Kubiak was satisfied with his team’s effort to start the mandatory part of the season with the shield in place.

In other minicamp notes:

• New Raiders’ linebacker Nakobe Dean reportedly was not at the the start of the mandatory minicamp. He was not at the voluntary sessions attended by media members, either. He was present Monday at media day, though. After practice Tuesday, assistant head coach Mike McCoy said Dena was been working in the building and there is no concern. He said the goal is to have everyone ready for the season. So, that suggests Dean may be working through something health wise, but it doesn’t sound too serious. Dean signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Raiders with $20 million in guaranteed money in March.
• Rookie cornerback Jermod McCoy was not on the field. He missed the last two OTA sessions attended by media members as well. He had been previously doing some things on the practice field. He is working through a knee injury with hopes of playing this season.
• Reportedly, every player but Dean and McCoy were present Tuesday. As he has all offseason, star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby was on the field for stretching but didn’t practice because he is recovering from knee surgery. The plan is for Crosby to practice when training camp starts late next month.
• Guard Jackson Powers-Johnson was on the field for the team period, so second-year player Caleb Rogers worked with the first team.
• Second-year cornerback Darien Porter and fifth-round pick Hezekiah Masses rotated with the first unit opposite Eric Stokes. That’s a big opportunity for Masses.
• McCoy praised rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s work under center. He also said the team has a detailed plan to bring Mendoza along toward playing.
• Mendoza said he is getting a limited amount of snaps with the No. 2 offense, but most with the No. 3 offense. He said he is treating every rep like it’s the Super Bowl.