Make California Post a Preferred Source The Raiders weren’t just sorting out their starting offensive line when they alternated Jackson Powers-Johnson and Caleb Rogers at right guard during training camp and the preseason.
They were preparing for a situation they knew could arrive during the regular season.
“Both of those guys are going to play this year,” the Raiders coach said.
That sounded like an assessment of a competitive position battle. It also served as a reminder that the Raiders were building a plan that extended beyond naming a starter.
Powers-Johnson’s injury history made having a dependable alternative a necessity. And Rogers’ development gave the Raiders a reason to invest meaningful snaps in a young player who might eventually be asked to do far more than watch from the sideline.
Now, with Powers-Johnson working to get healthy after suffering a groin injury Sunday against the Saints, the reasoning behind that summer approach is coming into focus.
“We just keep getting him healthy and hope to get him to some practice reps this week so he can play,” Kubiak said about Powers-Johnson.
Given that Powers-Johnson was unable to practice Wednesday or Thursday, the Raiders are increasingly likely to turn to Rogers.
Thanks to the plan the Raiders put in place over the summer, Rogers is in good position to make it a seamless transition.
Kubiak wasn’t predicting an injury in August. But he was preparing for the possibility. Given Powers-Johnson’s history, the Raiders could not afford to treat his availability over a full season as a certainty.
For all the attention paid to who would win the starting job, there was another question worth considering: Who would be ready if the starter went down?
The Raiders could not afford to leave that answer to chance.
Giving Rogers work alongside the starters allowed him to develop in the setting he would have to navigate if called upon. There is value in learning assignments. There is another level of preparation involved in executing them alongside the players who would count on him.
Rogers approached those opportunities with the same urgency he brings to the regular season.
“When it comes to treating every single day the same, treating every single game every single week as our Super Bowl, it’s the most important day we have because it’s the only day we have,” Rogers said.
At guard, continuity matters. Protection calls, combination blocks and the timing required to handle movement along the defensive front depend on players seeing the same things and responding together.
Those connections are best established before an injury forces a change.
For Kubiak and offensive line coach Rick Dennison, the approach balanced an immediate need with a developmental opportunity. Powers-Johnson could prepare for his role, while Rogers accumulated experience that could strengthen the entire group.
“I think we keep that mentality by approaching every day as if it’s the same,” Rogers said. “Regardless of what our record is and who we are playing, we’re taking the same approach to every game that we have because that’s our job.”
Viewed strictly as a competition, the alternating snaps invited questions about Powers-Johnson’s standing.
Viewed as preparation for a long season, the reasoning becomes clearer.
He spent the summer making sure both would be ready.
