Kubiak ready for ‘awful’ experience of 1st cutdown day with Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders manager Klint Kubiak said he and the front office face difficult decisions in the coming days as the team must reduce its roster from 89 to 53 players by 3 p.m. Sunday. “It’s awful,” Kubiak said on a league call Friday. “You make relationships with these guys since April and they springiness you their bosom and their psyche and each their time, and yet it comes down to this.” He added that the metallic lining is that release from an NFL squad at the end of training camp is not necessarily final. “There are so many examples of guys that have been cut and make form squads and make a team, or guys that get claimed by other teams, or guys that get cut 5 times and make 12‑year careers,” he said. “So there’s tons of examples that you can share with them to encourage them because there’s a lot of good football players that are out there in the NFL that have been sliced and diced multiple times. Coaches too, hired and fired. You just get better. You get better and you learn and you fail forward.” Kubiak noted that the process is not easy for the decision‑makers either, saying certain position groups will be harder to evaluate than others, though he declined to specify which. The Raiders are expected to confront tough choices at the back end of the receiver and offensive line rooms, as well as on the defensive line. Even after the roster is trimmed to 53, the work continues. Las Vegas holds the top spot on the waiver wire, meaning it can claim any players released by other clubs that might upgrade the squad. “This will be a really important couple of days here,” he said. “We’re first in the order, so that’s something we’re going to look hard at.” **Medical updates** Kubiak said he has not yet received an update from the medical staff regarding rookie border defender Keyron Crawford, who was carted off the sideline with an ankle injury in the third quarter of Thursday’s game. Wide receiver Dont’e Thornton, who has missed most of training camp, still has not returned to practice. “He’s still working to come back from an injury, working really hard at it too,” Kubiak said. “And that’s part of football, injuries are part of football, and he’s striving to get better to get back on the field.” Regarding star running back Ashton Jeanty, Kubiak reiterated that he is “on the mend” after suffering an ankle injury on Sunday. Thornton and Crawford appear to be candidates for injured reserve before Sunday, which would give them a chance to rejoin the team after Week 4 without counting against the 53‑man limit. Jeanty is also a candidate, but there is hope he will not need that move because he has not been ruled out for the season opener on Sept. 13. “We’ve got another week to measure however he’s going to look going into this first game,” Kubiak said. “But we’re counting on him.” **QB depth chart** Kubiak has said he believes the Raiders have three NFL‑qualified quarterbacks on the roster, though last week he did not commit to keeping all three. A scenario remains in which Aidan O’Connell could be traded or waived; if he stays, he could serve as the backup behind presumed starter Fernando Mendoza, who would act as the emergency third‑stringer to avoid thrusting him into action without a full week of repetitions. That assumes Kirk Cousins starts, as expected, although Kubiak has not formally confirmed that. “We have 3 guys that are ready to play,” Kubiak said Friday. “And it’s going to be some hard decisions on who’s one, who’s two, and that’s not a decision that we have to make today. But those are discussions that are ongoing.” **Need more from WRs** Kubiak has emphasized that he wants more production from his wide receivers. Bishop Gorman alum and free‑agent signing Jalen Nailor appears to be a particular focus. Nailor was one of the few projected starters to play in the second preseason game, and Kubiak criticized his failure to corral a high throw from Mendoza that resulted in an interception against the 49ers. “I thought it was an excellent throw,” Kubiak said. “He ripped it just like we asked him to on time. Yeah, it was a little bit high. Jalen’s got to make the play.” Nailor managed to leap and get his fingertips on the ball thrown high over a linebacker in the middle, but the effort was not a regular completion. The play came one snap after Nailor made an impressive one‑handed grab on a pass thrown low to him in the flat.