Oakland Raiders to be Featured Team on HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’

The Oakland Raiders have no shortage of high-profile television personalities. Which one would assume ranked them high on HBO’s list of teams to follow during their annual Hard Knocks show, which follows one NFL team through the preseason. On Tuesday, it was announced that that’s exactly what will happen, the Raiders will be the featured team on this season’s version of the show.

In the past, reports have been mixed as far as teams’ willingness to take part in the program. But Oakland seemed ready and willing. For good reason, they might lead the league in television experience and willingness to talk to a camera.

Head coach Jon Gruden, obviously, came to the Raiders after doing color commentary for ESPN’s Monday Night Football. General manager Mike Mayock was hired from the NFL Network, where he appeared as a draft analyst.

Mayock played three seasons of pro football – one of those being with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts. He was drafted by the Steelers in 1981 but was cut prior to the season. That’s when he signed with Toronto. After one season in the CFL, Mayock spent two seasons with the New York Giants. The Raiders gig is his first in an NFL front office.

And then there’s the roster. One would assume newly acquired wide receiver Antonio Brown won’t shy away from talking on television, as nothing in his past suggests he’s even a little camera shy.

While the show tends to focus on at least one bottom-of-the-roster battle for those last spots before final cutdown, there’s also some big-picture things that are sure to be anticipated in how the show approaches them. Such as the Raiders’ rebuild and how they plan to become a winner or the move to Las Vegas that has seen more than its share of hiccups.

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Ryan lives in Wisconsin. He was raised on a steady diet of whole milk, cheese, sports, WWF/WWE wrestling, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

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