BRADENTON, Fla. (WFLA) – The Buccaneers upcoming foe is encroaching on Tampa Bay area territory. The Oakland Raiders are in the wrong Bay area right now.
The Raiders are spending this week in the Tampa Bay area ahead of Sunday’s game against the Bucs. They played in Jacksonville last weekend. Instead of flying back and forth across the country, they decided to call Florida home for a few days.
With the perfect weather and Florida sunshine, they’re not complaining. “We just enjoying it. It’s beautiful. Sarasota, this is nice, man,” Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree said. “You can’t beat this weather; you can’t beat this scenery.”
They’re getting a taste of what we enjoy every day. “I love it man. The weather is nice … That’s always a good thing,” Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.
The team is practicing at the IMG Academy in Bradenton. “IMG man, I’ve never seen anything like that. That’s pretty nice man,” Crabtree said.
It’s like a second week of summer training. “This is a business trip for us, but this is a vacation in the sense that it doesn’t matter where we’re at; we’re a family,” Carr said.
Coach Jack Del Rio stressed it’s not a vacation. “I looked out and realized there was actually water close by. It only took me three days to realize that,” Del Rio said. “Happens to be a beautiful setting, but the work’s the same.”
