Jermod McCoy hits practice field

A week ago, Jermod McCoy was of some teams draft boards because of health concerns.

Saturday, he was on the practice field during the Las Vegas Raiders ’ rookie minicamp, which is running from Friday to Sunday.

Media members were allowed to watch some of the Saturday’s practice and McCoy, a fourth-round pick from Tennessee, was on the practice field during individual drills. He was limited and worked on the side during team drills. He did catch some punts early in the practice.

The fact that McCoy dis anything on the field is encouraging.

The Raiders traded up from No. 102 to No. 101 in a trade with the Buffalo Bills . The Raiders sent a seventh-round pick in 2027 to complete the trade to draft McCoy who tumbled in the draft due to health concenrs.

McCoy was considered a top-1o talent and could become a true No.1 cornerback for a team that needs the help. He missed all of last season with a torn ACL. But there are deeper issues. McCoy reportedly had a degenerative knee issue and he may need to have a surgery that could keep him out for a year. Reportedly, there are also risk that if the surgery doesn’t work he could never play.

Reportedly, there are concerns that he may have a short career at best. Also, reportedly, there were many teams that had McCoy off their draft board because of the injury concerns. ESPN reported this week that five of eight teams polled after Round 3 said he was off their draft boards due to the health worries. That tracks to be more than half the league.

McCoy told Raiders ’ reporters the team will determine if he needs surgery. Raiders general manager John Spytek told Kay Adams this week the Raiders were confident in their plan for McCoy and ESPN reported they are optimistic he can play this season.

So, while there is a long way to go in McCoy’s timetable, Saturday was an encouraging development.

In other minicamp notes:

• No. 1 pick, quarterback Fernando Mendoza worked under center a lot, which is a Klint Kubiak staple. Mendoza said he will skip Indiana’s visit to the White House on May 11 because the Raiders’ have an OTA day and he feels like he owes it to his teammates to be there.

• The only draft pick not to practice was third-round pick, pass-rusher Keyron Crawford. He told reporters that he did a lot of work on Friday and was given Saturday off.

• Laki Tasi is still listed on the roster as an offensive lineman, but he continued to work at defensive tackle as has been the case this offseason.

• Undrafted quarterback Sawyer Robertson of Baylor was at minicamp on a tryout basis.