Written by Sequoia Loya (Sports Writer)
The Oakland Raiders are finally moving from their longtime home in Oakland, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. Right now, the Raiders are in a training camp in Napa, California. Their new training facility in Henderson, Nevada is being built. The Raiders’ colors could possibly change into dark blue instead of black. Some of the team nicknames for the Raiders are the World’s Team, Raider Nation, Team of the Decades, and Men in Black.
In the first round draft for the Raiders picks, Henry Ruggs is a wide receiver from Alabama state and Damon Arnette is a cornerback from Ohio State, they were both first-round picks. In round three, Lynn Bowden who plays running back from Kentucky, Bryan Edwards who plays a wide receiver from South Carolina and Tanner Muse who plays linebacker from Clemson. In round four, John Simpson who plays offensive guard from Clemson and Amik Robertson who plays cornerback from Louisianna Tech.
There are three new players added to the roster including defensive linemen named Olsen Pierre, Pierre played nine games for Giants and moved to the raiders. A tight end Eric Tomlinson, Tomlinson spent the first few years of his career with the Jets and then 2 games with the Patriots and 3 games with the Giants before finally making his way to the Raiders. The third person, Nick Nelson who plays cornerback, started off as a rookie for the team. He spent the last season on the practice squad before finally making it to the team.
Their home games will be played on the brand new Allegiant Stadium which is being built just off the Las Vegas strip. The new stadium is going to be open in July 2020. Their move came about after many failed attempts by the team owner, Mark Davis to replace the Oakland Coliseum. The Oakland Stadium is rated as one of the worst stadiums in the NFL. In the 2019 season, the Raiders had 7 wins 9 losses, and 0 Ties. Jon Gruden returned as head coach of the Raiders in January 2019. The first Raiders game will begin against the Carolina Panthers on September 13th. The Las Vegas Raiders are looking at significant changes during the upcoming season. Hopefully, this new move and their new stadium will bring the team some long-awaited satisfaction for the Raiders to have a good season.
Last season the 49ers record was 13 wins 3 losses. The 2020 NFL draft was held from April 23rd to 25th. It was done through video conference. This was done because of COVID-19. The draft took place in Paradise, Nevada.
The 49ers added four new players to the team including Javon Kinlaw of South Carolina who plays a defensive tackle, Brandon Aiyuk of Arizona State who plays a wide receiver. Both players were first-round picks. In the fifth round, Colton McKivitz of West Virginia plays offensive tackle and in the sixth round, Charlie Warner from Georgia who plays tight end. The preseason is still to be announced due to having to be sheltered in place. The NFL starting season was announced on May 7th. The start of the NFL season begins on September 10th, 2020. The first 49ers game is on September 13th against the Arizona Cardinals.
Hopefully, the state of California will allow sporting events by the time the NFL season starts so that people can be in attendance and watch the games. It will be different not having the Raiders around. Oakland will be missing them for sure. Hopefully, this season promises to be a good one.
The Claw 