Tom Telesco will have a better idea of what his first Raiders team will look like about three or four weeks into the NFL season.
The Director General knows that no two years are the same. Each year brings its own ups and downs, strengths and weaknesses, predictable results and surprises.
It will be no different for the Raiders in 2024.
The team unveiled its first 53-man roster on Tuesday, Telesco’s first since being hired in January, which he built during the offseason based on coach Antonio Pierce’s vision.
Telesco said that should always be the goal. Find out how your coach wants to play and do your best to find the right pieces of the puzzle.
Time will tell whether he succeeded or not. Records don’t lie.
“This year’s Raiders team is completely different than last year,” Telesco said. “That’s just the nature of this league. A lot of new players – both younger and more experienced – have come together as a unit. We started doing that in training camp. I think we did a great job in training camp in Costa Mesa, California. Now we’re back in Las Vegas and we need to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
“We have a mix of some veterans, a mix of some younger veterans and a mix of some young players. So we’ll try to mix it all together and see how it works.”
Proportion of newcomers
Tuesday’s roster shouldn’t be considered final. These things happen. Telesco already combed through other teams’ cuts on Tuesday to see which players might be available. The Raiders can still fill some holes and add more depth.
But Tuesday offered a first glimpse of how the team plans to approach a season in which its total number of wins in the city remains at 6.5. This is the group that will set the tone when the Chargers face them on Sept. 8.
It is a squad with many newcomers. Of the initial 53, nine are there.
Telesco wants each of them to take on veterans as mentors. He wants him to listen to them a lot and watch them. The reality now is completely different. He wants each of them to take advantage of the resources available.
Many will move to special teams, which was clearly a priority when looking at the 53. The NFL’s new kickoff rules apparently put even more emphasis on this than usual.
“When you’re ranked between 45th and 53rd, that’s got to be a pretty big role for those players on special teams,” Telesco said. “You always have to take that into account when you put that together.”
The Raiders will start with two quarterbacks — Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell — and will likely sign a third to their practice squad. That makes sense, especially considering the need on special teams.
The team’s path to 53 players didn’t bring many surprises. That’s how it should have gone if the Raiders followed Pierce’s vision. It’s his team and his style of play.
It was Telesco’s job to find suitable players. We’ll see.
Expect some changes
“The nature of this business is that it’s a day-to-day league for all of us,” Telesco said. “You never know how long it’s going to last. You can’t just sit back, put your feet up and celebrate. It’s professional football. Everyone tries to take someone’s job at some point.”
“Now the opening game is everyone’s goal. It’s no longer about training camp and preseason games. It’s about getting ready for the Chargers. You can’t party too long.”
Telesco’s first 53-man roster as general manager of the Raiders has been finalized. Expect changes along the way. Every year is different.
Whether he was successful or not will only become clear over time. That is always the case.
Ed Graney, winner of the Sigma Delta Chi Award for sports column, can be reached at [email protected]. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow @edgraney on X.
