Depleted Raiders Call Off Scrimmages

With his team depleted by injuries, Raider Coach Mike Shanahan decided Tuesday to cancel all preseason scrimmages.

Shanahan, who has a dozen or more players on limited duty because of injuries, already had scaled back morning practices at Oxnard to no-pads workouts and decreased running drills.

“In most scrimmages, you lose three or four players to injuries,” he said. “I’d rather see them in game situations working against another team.”

Shanahan said it is the first training camp he has been involved with, college or pro, where no scrimmages were played.

Starting left offensive tackle Rory Graves became the latest in a group of six Raiders to suffer pulled hamstrings. Linebacker Jerry Robinson was held out of practice with a groin pull, and tight end Mike Dyal suffered a hip injury. Cornerback Mike Richardson, a Plan B free agent from the Chicago Bears, was given a day off because of sore knees.