Oakland Raiders: Conley Showing An Alarming Lack Of Maturity

The Oakland Raiders took a big gamble with their first-round pick in this year’s draft and have not only not seen a return on their investment, they’ve gotten a mountain of trouble from him in the process.

Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie raised a lot of eyebrows when he took Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley with the twenty-fourth overall pick in this year’s draft. And with Conley having been accused of sexual assault, it certainly seemed like McKenzie was rolling the dice in a big way.

Authorities ultimately declined to bring charges against Conley – bringing about a massive sigh of relief from everybody in Raiders HQ, with perhaps none bigger than that from McKenzie himself.

Once that hurdle was cleared, and the focus was again, on football, the Raiders hoped to get the talented corner on the field to help shore up a secondary that badly needs some help. The anticipation was high in seeing Conley on the field with the hopes that Oakland’s pass defense would get a much needed shot in the arm.

And yet, he we are, heading into week eight – the midpoint of the season – and we’re still waiting.

Conley suffered a shin injury that held him out of training camp. And the exhibition season. And the first week of the regular season. And after a brief cameo on the field – a cameo that consisted of 92 total defensive snaps over two games, or roughly 20 percent of the team’s total defensive snaps in 2017 – Conley was again put on the shelf with his lingering shin injury.

And this time, it doesn’t seem likely that we’re going to be seeing him back in action anytime soon.

The party line out of Oakland is that the team is being “patient” with Conley. HC Jack Del Rio, when asked when we might see the rookie on the field again, couldn’t offer much.

"“I don’t really want to try and paint it in those terms or try and speak to his situation in those terms. I think we are going to be patient and do the right thing at the right time with him. We were trying to kind of get him going and see if we could get a little bit [out of him] and it just didn’t really appear to be making the kind of progress we need to make.So, when he can do the things that he needs to do and he gets cleared to come back and be full-speed for us, then we’ll know.”"

Not having their first-round pick on the field is putting a definite hurt on this defense. With Sean Smith and David Amerson both dinged up and not playing exceptionally well even when healthy, Oakland’s secondary is taking the kind of beating we haven’t seen since – oh wait, last season.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

But Conley was supposed to be a game changer. And while he showed some solid potential over those 92 total defensive snaps, we are still waiting for that change to come.

What makes Conley’s absence galling though, is not the injury itself. Football is a physically demanding sport and athletes get hurt. What makes it galling is how Conley has chosen to spend his time off the field.

Namely, the fact that he’s chosen to lash out like a petulant, immature child, rather than act like a professional.

First, there was Conley clapping back at McKenzie when the GM first offered up “shin splints” to explain Conley’s absence before training camp. Taking to Twitter, Conley more or less tried to make a fool of his GM – a Tweet that has since been deleted, of course.

But, the Internet never forgets…

And in his latest misstep, following Oakland’s thrilling come-from-behind win over the Chiefs last Thursday, Conley again showed his immaturity by calling out Oakland’s fans.

Conley’s Tweet was beyond unnecessary and simply showcased – once more – the fact that he does not know what it means to be a professional.

Much of the Raider Nation has endured the hard times with this team. The Nation was still there through those 14 long years of losing seasons.

Next: Prime Time Scrum Hopefully Ends Conspiracy Theory

In fact, if you want to get right down to it, much of the Raider Nation has been bleeding Silver and Black longer than Conley has been alive – a point made time and again in some justifiably hostile reactions to his really ill-advised Tweet.

Given all that, it’s understandable that after four consecutive losses – none of which, this team looked particularly good – that fans would be frustrated. That fans would be upset watching a team with this much talent getting blown out of the water time and again this season.

Fans support this team with their loyalty, their passion, their time, and of course, their dollars. By choosing to blast frustrated fans and label them all “bums,” Conley once again showed a disturbing lack of awareness, class, tact, and maturity.

To this point in his career, between his lack of time on the field, and incredibly immature – almost JaMarcus Russell-esque – behavior off the field, Conley isn’t doing himself any favors.

He’s certainly coming off as far more of a diva than somebody who’s logged just 92 professional defensive snaps and hasn’t done or proven a single on the pro level yet, has any right to .

And at this point, given his immaturity, fans can’t – and shouldn’t – be blamed for wondering, even if only to themselves, whether or not Conley is more trouble than he’s worth.

Perhaps, the rookie should try to find ways to make positive contributions to his team — a team that continues to remain “patient” with him — while he’s rehabbing, rather than be a distraction with his diva act.