The Oakland Raiders held a bonus practice Sunday, the day following their league mandated cut to 53 players.
Following the on-field session, Head Coach Jack Del Rio spoke to the media. Here are the takeaways from his press conference.
The Raiders cut their roster down to 53 players Saturday, but Head Coach Del Rio said Sunday that at the moment, the roster is fluid.
"If I tried to say, 'yeah this is it,' it may be, it may not be. It's one of those situations where it's fluid. It has the potential to be fluid and we will always entertain opportunities to upgrade our football team. That will happen not only right now as we approach the beginning of the season, but that'll happen throughout the year."
While the league mandates that teams cut down to 53 players leading up to the regular season, Head Coach Del Rio said it's never an easy time of year for him and the coaching staff.
"I think the hardest thing this time of year is meeting with the young men and explaining that it's not going to work here, and in some cases, you're hoping to get some of those guys back. We'll just see how it all shakes out."
He also spoke about the addition of the newest Raider, safety Keenan Lambert, who the team claimed via wavers Sunday.
"Effort-filled guy that made some plays in the ball game. He's trained in our system, something similar. He's got at least some of the language with what [defensive coordinator] Ken [Norton, Jr.] brought down, so there's some of the language that's similar. So we feel like he's a young, aggressive safety that is worthy of a spot right now."
The Silver and Black start the season with consecutive home games for the first time since 1969, and Head Coach Del Rio spoke about the excitement of starting the season at O.co Coliseum.
"We're really excited to open at home. I think it's a great opportunity for us as a football team to get a great start. It's a really good opponent. I know we'll talk more about it as the week goes on. A good opponent, a coach that I worked with in Baltimore and have a long history with. Good coach, good man. Looking forward to the challenge."
He also addressed the trade of linebacker Sio Moore to the Indianapolis Colts for a sixth round pick.
"He [Moore] wasn't going to make our team. We had depth there that we're really happy about. We brought in two free agent linebackers that are both playing really well. We brought in two draft picks that are both playing pretty well. We developed a guy at the position that's returning in Ray-Ray [Armstrong] and we added a guy that we think is a real core difference maker on special teams. We've got a full group. It was an opportunity to acquire a pick for a guy that somebody else may want to have."
