The Oakland Raiders have some high expectations heading into the 2013 season as they try to rebound from a 4-12 record and after signing all their top draft picks over the past week, two of those names in D.J. Hayden and Menelik Watson will start training camp on the non-football injury list.
According to Pro Football Talk, D.J. Hayden and Menelik Watson will start on the injury list and will miss out on Friday's first practice with the team and may spend more time there as camp goes on. Hayden is on the list after being the number 12 pick and getting abdominal surgery to clean up some scar tissue that remained from his emergency injury and surgery back when he was playing at Houston and nearly died from a heart issue.
Watson's injury is less clear after he signed as a second round pick out of Florida State and Reggie McKenzie and Dennis Allen have hopes that he can start this season. Allen will be meeting with the media on Friday and that could bring out the exact reason why he hit the list, as the team would like him to be in the mix on the offensive line even as a rookie. Hayden will get the chance to start, but the Raiders have other players that can make up for his absence, including Mike Jenkins and Tracy Porter, who were both signed this offseason.
The defense has a number of new names in Nick Roach, Kevin Burnett and Charles Woodson and the offensive line is going to be a major factor in the success of the team. Darren McFadden and the running backs are working on a new running and blocking scheme and having Watson in the mix will only make the team better and will add more depth. The team went just 4-12 last season but after adding Tyler Wilson, Hayden, Watson, Nick Kasa, Brice Butler and Latavius Murray in the draft, the team is ready to improve.
