Josh McDaniels starts Raiders’ era in hometown
The Pro Football Hall of Fame weekend will have a Raiders’ feel to it.
Not only will Raiders’ legendary wide receiver Cliff Branch, who died in 2019, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during the weekend, but the Las Vegas Raiders will kick off the weekend by playing the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Hall of Fame game Thursday, August 4.
BREAKING NEWS: The @Raiders will take on the @Jaguars in the 2022 Hall of Fame Game at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, Aug. 4.
Tickets on sale this Friday at 10 AM ET.
More: https://t.co/975KLXg6Vi pic.twitter.com/jKHMuQEm0E
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) February 28, 2022
It is significant for a few reasons. It means the Raiders will play four preseason games instead of three like most of the league. It also means the Raiders will start training camp earlier than expected to get ready for this game. That is a great perk for new head coach Josh McDaniels and his staff. They get more time with their new team to prepare for the season.
Personally, playing in the Hall of Fame game is will be special for McDaniels as well. He is from Canton, Ohio and played his high school games in the same stadium and his father was his coach. It will be the first time McDaniels has ever coached in this game.
This will be the fourth time the Raiders have played in the Hall of Fame game and first since 2006. They are 3-0 in the Hall of Fame game.