The Oakland Raiders have high hopes for their first round draft pick DJ Hayden after he was taken 12th overall out of Houston in April, but after getting surgery in the offseason the team has said that the cornerback will not play in the opening preseason game.
According to Pro Football Talk, Hayden will sit out of Friday's game against the Dallas Cowboys in the preseason opener and while it may be due to recovering from the surgery, he also suffered a pulled hamstring this week in practice. The report says that it likely has more to do with the surgery, which helped clean up scar tissue from the procedure he needed on his heart last fall that saved his life after collapsing at a practice.
McKenzie knew the risks when he drafted Hayden, but the team felt that he was one of the most talented players in the draft and they traded back to get him with the Miami Dolphins. Hayden has been limited in camp so far while wearing a non-contact jersey and he also ended up hurting his hamstring a bit on Monday and either way, Dennis Allen said that he would not have played Friday no matter what.
The team is hoping for big things from Hayden, but they should be able to survive if he can't play during the preseason. McKenzie signed Tracy Porter, Mike Jenkins and Charles Woodson in the offseason and the secondary is expected to be much improved.
