The Oakland Raiders officially kicked off their 2016 Offseason Program Monday morning at the team's Alameda, Calif., facility.
Center Rodney Hudson was one of the trio of players made available to the media; here are the highlights from his first media session of 2016.
The Raiders' offensive line can be a force to be reckoned with.
"We definitely have some good players. We added Kelechi [Osemele], but at the end of the day, we have to stay together, put in the work first, get familiar with each other and just keep learning together."
Praise from the media doesn't mean much.
"You definitely focus on now and put it to the side a little bit because you have to do the work first. It's a long time until the season starts. We have to continue to work, and like I said, continue to learn, continue to grow in the offense and as a team to be able to perform well."
**Last year was a good start.
**
"I think we definitely made strides. We definitely made strides from my first day I was here last year to now. [There has] always been that positive energy and everybody's excited, and I think what we did a good job of last year was just buying in. We had a lot of new coaches come here, and all the new players. I think everybody did a good job of just buying in and focusing on working hard, and we just have to stay together and keep the course."
Continuity is key.
"I think it helps a lot. In the NFL, there's a lot of turnover all the time, but like you said, we have a lot of people back, and a lot of guys are familiar with each other. We just have to keep working. We just have to keep working and keep building."
The Offseason Program provides a great chance to start building the team's foundation.
"I think these first few weeks are important. Guys are getting in the weight room, working out together, like you said, everybody's happy to be back around each other, and just get familiarized with each other, watching tape and meeting. I think it's important that everybody's together."
