Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden has emphasized that he is trying to build a culture since returning to the organization, and that was a big focus among the team’s offseason acquisitions.
So far some of those acquisitions are not off to a good start though as Antonio Brown recently saw a foot specialist due to injury and Richie Incognito was suspended for the first two games of the season.
One of the team’s other acquisitions was cornerback Nevin Lawson, who came over from the Detroit Lions in the offseason. It appears that Lawson will also be missing some time to begin the season. He announced on his personal Twitter account that he has been suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s banned substance list:
— Nevin Lawson (@nevin_lawson) August 6, 2019
This is obviously another tough break for the Raiders, who aren’t that deep at cornerback. Lawson is a third-stringer according to the Raiders’ first unofficial depth chart, although a lot of the guys ahead of him are young and inexperienced so he will be relied upon as a bit of a leader this season.
The Raiders are facing two division opponents in the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs as well as two playoff-caliber teams in the Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts in the first four games of the season, so being without key players is not ideal for a team coming off a 4-12 season.
Lawson is still about to participate in Training Camp practices and preseason games before he begins his suspension in Week 1.
