Oakland Raiders: Five players to watch in preseason opener with the Lions

Oakland Raiders football is back, and as they kick off the preseason against Detroit, here are a few players worth keeping an eye on.

Yeah, it’s only preseason, but it’s the first chance fans have to see the Oakland Raiders on the field again after a subpar, wildly underachieving, disastrous, terrible, horrible, no good, very bad 6-10 campaign last year.

This is the first chance for the Raiders themselves to exorcise the demons of that wayward year, and start to get the bad taste out of their collective mouths it left behind.

While the starters aren’t likely to see much time on the field – maybe, a drive, maybe two – there will be a lot of time to see the guys currently battling for playing time, and guys battling for a spot on the roster at all.

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There are a number of really intriguing battles to watch as we roll through the preseason schedule. With very few exceptions, virtually every position is in flux at this point as HC Jon Gruden and his staff will be evaluating the talent on hand to see who will grind hard enough to secure a spot among the final 53.

Through the early part of spring and training camp so far, the Raiders have had a number of terrific storylines emerge. They’ve also had some less than encouraging storylines play out as well – second year man Obi Melifonwu‘s inability to stay on the field (again) being one of the more prominent.

Oakland has a lot of talent in camp this year, both veteran and youngster alike. And if there’s one thing we know about Gruden, it’s that nobody is going to be handed anything. If you want to play for the Raiders, whether you’re a rookie, or a ten-year vet, you’re going to have to earn it.

Which should make for something of an exciting game – well, as exciting as preseason gets, anyway. But, with so many players, and so many roster spots open, you can guarantee that guys will be going all out to make a name for themselves and get some eyes on them.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few players who, given the battles at their respective positions, may be well worth watching closely.