Silver Minings: Raiders 2021 schedule set for release on May 12

Hot on the heels of next week’s NFL draft, the league announced yesterday that the 2021 season schedule will officially be released on Wednesday, May 12, at 5 p.m. PT via NFL Network, NFL.com and the NFL app.

That means we will all be able to start planning those game-day trips to Vegas to christen Allegiant Stadium for it’s first year open to fans.

As we all know, the 2021 season will feature each team playing 17 regular-season games and three preseason games for the first time. The 17th game will feature teams from opposing conferences that finished in the same place within their division the previous season, with the AFC as the home conference for the 17th game in 2021.

However, before the Silver and Black get to play in front of fans, Allegiant will host nine football teams from Clark County School District high schools this coming weekend. The Raiders are allowing each team to have two hours to utilize the stadium field for individual drills and inter squad sessions. The practices and scrimmages for CCSD student-athletes begin Friday and will be held over two days, according to Raiders.com.

In other Raiders’ links:

• George Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, issued a statement of support Wednesday for the Las Vegas Raiders after Mark Davis’ “I can breathe” tweet was criticized for being tone deaf. “On behalf of our family, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Las Vegas Raiders organization and its leadership for their support of our family and for our nation’s ongoing pursuit of justice and equality for all,” he said.
• Raiders take Alijah Vera-Tucker from USC in SB Nation writers’ official mock draft, with our resident analyst Chris Pflum saying that “the strength of Vera-Tucker’s game is, aptly enough, his impressive play strength. Vera-Tucker is a smart and athletic interior lineman, but strength is at the core of everything he does along the offensive line.”
• The NFL approved the proposed rule to expand jersey number options for certain positions.
• BetMGM currently has the Raiders as -175 favorites to pick defense in Round 1 (bet $175 to win $100) of the upcoming draft, with +500 odds for nabbing Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons.
• It’s official! Former Raider Arden Key signed with the San Francisco 49ers on Wednesday on a one-year deal, our friends at Niners Nation reported, describing it as a “low-risk, medium reward” for SF.