The Las Vegas Raiders are about to get training camp underway as players have already begun reporting to the team’s practice facility in Henderson for coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
While it is unclear if he tested positive, the Raiders have already placed their first player in running back Devontae Booker on the reserve/COVID-19 list. That list is used for players who either tested positive or came in contact with someone that did, requiring them to quarantine themselves until they have at least three negative tests.
Booker is a veteran, previously of the Denver Broncos, that the Raiders brought in as a free agent this offseason to give them some running back depth.
It appears the team is planning to be without him for some time, as according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, they have met with another free-agent veteran running back in Jeremy Hill and the plan is to sign him, pending a physical and coronavirus test:
The #Raiders hosted free agent RB Jeremy Hill today and plan to sign him a contract, source said. A deal is pending his physical and his COVID-19 test. The former #Patriots and #Bengals RB last played in 2018, and would be a low-risk add.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 31, 2020
Hill originally was a second-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2014 out of LSU. He played four seasons with the Bengals and one with the New England Patriots in 2018 before sitting out the 2019 season.
His rookie season was his best, rushing for 1,124 yards and nine touchdowns. While he is still just 27 years of age, he hasn’t seen significant playing time since the 2016 season, so it’s unclear what he still has left in the tank.
It’s no secret that Josh Jacobs will be the Raiders’ starting running back in 2020, and the team already has some solid depth in place with Jalen Richard and rookie Lynn Bowden Jr.
If the team decides to go with four running backs as they have in the past, then that would leave Hill, Rod Smith and Booker, if he is able to return, battling for that final spot.
