For the second straight preseason game, Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio will start his postgame news conference Saturday night addressing some off-field issues. Like Sean Smith’s arrest Thursday for felony assault and why the cornerback did or didn’t play against the Rams.
Smith probably will play. Running back Marshawn Lynch, who surprised Del Rio by sitting for the national anthem before last Saturday’s opener, will play. Rookie corner Gareon Conley, whose injury-related tweets Del Rio also addressed first at the podium last Saturday, will not play.
Throw in left tackle Donald Penn’s holdout and all the national hype surrounding the team coming off a 12-4 season, and you have a lot of distractions.