Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak wouldn’t budge much when asked about a precarious plan for Thursday’s game vs. Houston
The Las Vegas Raiders are almost ready to play the Houston Texans on Thursday in their second preseason game, but Klint Kubiak is being asked about the starters’ plan.
The Las Vegas Raiders have their second preseason game on Thursday against the Houston Texans. But because this is the preseason, it’s really hard to predict what will happen. In this case, will the Raiders play their starters? That’s a question head coach Klint Kubiak has already been asked.
“We’ll see,” Kubiak told reporters on Tuesday after joint practice with the Texans.
Last week, the starters played quite a bit. Obviously, they played the first drive, which ended in a beautifully scripted touchdown drive. After that, few starters stayed in. Some, like Jack Bech, played quite a bit. But guys like Kirk Cousins, Ashton Jeanty, and Brock Bowers didn’t see more than a handful of plays.
And that’s how it should be. If they play on Thursday, that’s a precarious, risky situation. We have seen far too many times a team plays the starters in the preseason when it’s not needed, and a player ends up getting hurt in a meaningless game. So, part of you has to hope they don’t play. Part of Raider Nation wants more of what they saw from the starters last Thursday.
Raiders’ starters are getting plenty of reps vs. Texans in joint practice
The Raiders don’t need to play their starters vs. the Texans on Thursday. You need your guys ready for a long, tumultuous season. You need them healthy. Not to mention, the starters are getting plenty of team reps in joint practice vs. the Texans. On Tuesday, they started their first practice in Houston.
It went well, especially given where both teams are. The Texans have the best defense in the NFL and are a playoff team. What they are going to get Tuesday and Wednesday in practice is plenty enough for the starters. So, if it were up to me, the Raiders should probably sit the starters in this game. Then again, there’s a lot of position battles going on, so some are likely going to play.
