Raiders to hold draft event announcing picks from “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign

In case you needed to be reminded that the Raiders have one foot out the door, they will be welcoming some of their newest draft picks to... um... Oakland? from the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.

Raiders president Marc Badain announced Thursday that the team will be holding a draft event at the sign where they will be announcing their day three picks.

This announcement comes just days after the players were asked many times about their feelings on the team playing in Oakland while planning to move to Las Vegas.

It’s an incredibly awkward situation for the players, who when discussing it used the word “weird” several times, but usually followed up by the players saying their focus is on Oakland right now. This statement from Derek Carr is interesting in light of this draft event announcement.

“That’s my focus is to make sure I’m giving everything to this city (Oakland) that I can and not trying to do a little here and a little there,” said Carr. “Obviously, there are going to be times where we’re in Vegas doing things because it’s a weird situation, but my focus is here and now, making sure that our fans feel appreciated knowing that they are going to get the very best version of me and my teammates every time we step out on the field.”

This draft event only serves to undercut Carr and his teammates’ efforts to make the fans in Oakland feel appreciated. Or as Jim Trotter eloquently put it “Twisting the knife”

As Carr noted, events in Vegas are to be expected as the team drums up interest in their eventual arrival. But these rookies are joining the Oakland Raiders. Many of them will never play a down in Las Vegas. These are late round picks who would be lucky to stick with the team more than a couple seasons and the Raiders plan to be in Oakland for at least the next two years and won’t have their shiny new stadium constructed for three years.