Editorial

Raiders Cancel The Last Day Of Minicamp After ‘Hard Knocks’ Selection Is Announced

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David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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The Oakland Raiders have canceled their final day of minicamp.

According to Scott Bair on Wednesday night, Jon Gruden’s squad won’t have minicamp practice Thursday, players won’t be available to the media and offseason training is officially over.

The announcement comes a day after it was revealed the Raiders would be the latest team to be featured on “Hard Knocks” on HBO. (RELATED: Oakland Raiders Will Be Featured On The New Season Of ‘Hard Knocks’ On HBO)

It’s obviously impossible to know if the Raiders are shutting things down due to “Hard Knocks,” but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it was a factor.

Players are about to have cameras shoved in their faces for a long time, and it’s going to add an extra sense of pressure.

 

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Shutting it down now in June to give them a little extra time off might not be a bad idea at all. Having players not being made available to the media also limits potential problems from being on the hit show.

I’m sure the last thing Jon Gruden wants is a billion and half questions about how the show will impact the team. The Super Bowl wasn’t going to be won by what the team could have accomplished Thursday in minicamp.

 

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Given the type of circus that will surround Gruden, Antonio Brown and the rest of the team in a few weeks, I don’t blame him at all for giving them the day off.

What I also know for sure is that “Hard Knocks” is going to be absolutely lit when it airs August 6. The Raiders are one of the most fascinating teams in all of sports, Jon Gruden is pure electricity and I can’t wait to see what happens.

Make sure to tune in August 6 on HBO to watch it all go down. It should be one hell of a fun time.

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