Las Vegas Raiders

A hearing that will determine whether Jon Gruden's lawsuit against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell will be heard at trial is set for May 25, according to ESPN's Paul Gutierrez.

Judge Nancy Allf of the Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County, Nevada, will hear arguments from both sides, Gutierrez added.

The lawsuit is in relation to Gruden resigning as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in October 2021. He left the franchise after emails in which he used racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language before his hiring were leaked.

Around 650,000 emails were reviewed as part of the NFL's investigation into alleged misconduct by the Washington Commanders. At the time, Gruden's lawyer, Adam Hosmer-Henner, said "there is no explanation or justification" as to why only his client's emails to Washington team president Bruce Allen were leaked.

It's unclear who leaked the emails. However, Gruden alleges that Goodell leaked them to "harm" his reputation and use them as a way for the Raiders to force him out of Las Vegas.

In January, the NFL filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, according to NFL.com (h/t Gutierrez). In a statement, the league called it "baseless" and "an attempt by Jon Gruden to blame the NFL and its commissioner for the fallout from the publication" of his emails.

The league also said Gruden "has no one to blame but himself" and that the lawsuit should be completely dismissed.

Gruden joined the Raiders on a reported 10-year, $100 million deal ahead of the 2018 season to replace Jack Del Rio. It was his first head coaching job since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired him after the 2008 season.

The 58-year-old went 60-57 combined in his two stints as the head coach of the Silver and Black and never led the team to a winning season. His best finish came during the 2020 campaign when the Raiders finished 8-8.

At the time Gruden resigned, he was still owed around $40 million guaranteed on his contract. Raiders owner Mark Davis said in late October that the team had reached a settlement with Gruden, but it's unclear for how much.

Rich Bisaccia took over as head coach in Week 6 following Gruden's resignation, leading the team to a 7-5 record in his 12 games at the helm. After the 2021 campaign, the Raiders hired former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their next head coach. 

The NFL reportedly considered moving the then-Oakland Raiders to St. Louis in 2014 amid plans to move the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles.

Austin Huguelet, Joel Currier and Katie Kull of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the news Saturday in the wake of the NFL and the Rams releasing records regarding the Rams' move from St. Louis to L.A.

The records show that the NFL discussed moving the Raiders to St. Louis with restructured ownership and a brand makeover, but it never happened, and the league moved the Raiders to Las Vegas instead in 2020.

Last year, the NFL settled for $790 million with the city of St. Louis in relation to moving the Rams to Los Angeles in 2016.

Within the documents acquired by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, it was revealed that Rams owner Stan Kroenke began preparing for a move to Los Angeles in 2013 and that the NFL knew of the plans that year despite NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell saying he wasn't aware.

The Rams, Chargers and Raiders all filed paperwork to move to Los Angeles, but the Raiders were left out when the Rams and Chargers were chosen for relocation.

Now, the Rams and the Chargers share SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

Moving the Raiders to St. Louis would have eased some of the sting that came along with the Rams moving. The NFL reportedly also wanted to focus on a "special diversity initiative" in relation to a Raiders relocation to St. Louis.

Instead, Raiders owner Mark Davis reached a deal to build Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and the move became official for the 2020 season.

The Raiders spent their first season in Vegas without fans in attendance because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but last season they gave their fans plenty to cheer about by going 10-7 and reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Meanwhile, the Rams have reached the Super Bowl twice since relocation from St. Louis to L.A. in 2016, and they won it all last season thanks largely to the acquisition of quarterback Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions.

With the Rams moving and the Raiders' relocation falling through, St. Louis is left without an NFL team and has only two major professional sports franchises in the NHL's Blues and MLB's Cardinals.

A former Las Vegas Raiders human resources employee alleged this week that the organization created a toxic work environment.

Speaking to Ken Belson, Jenny Vrentas and Kevin Draper of the New York Times, Nicole Adams said of the Raiders, "If anyone complained, they were let go."

Adams, who worked for the Raiders for nearly five years, added that she was pushed out of the organization in 2020 but decided against signing a severance agreement since it would have prevented her from talking about her time with the Raiders.

In the New York Times article, it is alleged that when Raiders employees brought up concerns about the team's operations, they were "often ignored or pushed out and given settlements and nondisclosure agreements to keep them quiet."

Adams also said former Raiders executive Dan Ventrelle "joked he would be ready to settle if anyone came forward with a charge" during his time with the team.

Ventrelle joined the then-Oakland Raiders in 2003 and eventually rose to the title of executive vice president and general counsel. After team president Marc Badain resigned in July 2021, Ventrelle became interim president, and he was promoted to full-time president at the end of the 2021 season.

Less than a year after Ventrelle took the role, Raiders owner Mark Davis released a statement last week announcing that Ventrelle was no longer with the organization:

Ventrelle subsequently released said he was fired after taking employee complaints to the NFL after Davis was dismissive of them.

According to Vincent Bonsignore and Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Ventrelle said in a statement:

"I have committed almost 18 years of my life to the success of the Raiders as general counsel and president. I take that responsibility very seriously, which is why multiple written complaints from employees that Mark created a hostile work environment and engaged in other potential misconduct caused me grave concern.

"[He] did not demonstrate the warranted level of concern. Given this, I informed the NFL of these issues and of Mark's unacceptable response. Soon thereafter, I was fired in retaliation for raising these concerns."

Ventrelle added: "I firmly stand by my decision to elevate these issues to protect the organization and its female employees. I remain committed to doing everything in my power to support the Raiders and the Las Vegas community I now call home."

A statement from the NFL said it "recently became aware of these allegations and take them very seriously."

The Raiders are about seven months removed from Jon Gruden resigning as head coach of the team after the discovery of him using anti-gay and misogynistic language in emails.

At the conclusion of the 2021 season, the Raiders hired former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their new head coach and former Patriots executive Dave Ziegler as their general manager.

The Raiders have yet to publicly comment on Ventrelle's allegations, and the exact nature of the allegations made by Raiders employees has yet to be made public as well.

The Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots will reportedly hold joint practices before their game during the final week of the 2022 NFL preseason despite also facing off in Week 15 of the regular season.

Greg A. Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal reported the news Thursday:

The Raiders hired longtime Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their new head coach in January, which was likely a factor in the decision.

In March, New England coach Bill Belichick said he had no problem with McDaniels' departure, which included taking several Patriots assistants with him to Vegas.

"Josh is a great coach. I'm sure he feels like it's a great opportunity; that's why he took it," Belichick told ESPN's Paul Gutierrez. "Other than against us, I hope he does well. I'm sure he will do well. He's an outstanding coach.

"Some of the people that are with him are very good, too. It all worked out well. It's an opportunity we couldn't provide. He'll be hard to replace, but like I said, I feel like we have really good coaches on staff, and that's what we'll do."

McDaniels also confirmed he spoke with Belichick before asking a few members of the Pats staff to make the move with him.

"Absolutely," McDaniels told reporters. "I have great respect for Bill and that process. Spoke to him directly multiple times about any interest that I had in people that were there. I'll keep those conversations private, but never want to do the wrong things relative to those things."

That lack of animosity during the transition phase combined with their nearly two decades together likely made the decision to hold practices together easier.

McDaniels, who joined the Patriots' staff in 2001 and returned in 2012 after three years away with the Denver Broncos and St. Louis Rams, knows what Belichick tries to do defensively, and the NFL's longest-tenured head coach knows his former assistant's offensive approach.

Joint practices provide a more true-competition feel than a normal team session, especially during the latter stages of the preseason when teammates have been battling each other for over a month of training camp.

In addition, a lot of things are going to change between the exhibition slate and Week 15 of the regular season, meaning there isn't much concern about giving out secrets.

So, while the situation may be a bit unique, it's unlikely to have a tangible impact.

The New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders reportedly agreed to a trade Thursday that will send quarterback Jarrett Stidham to Vegas.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the deal will see New England send Stidham and a seventh-round draft pick to the Raiders for a sixth-round draft pick.

Following a collegiate career at Baylor and Auburn, Stidham was selected by the Patriots with the No. 133 pick in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL draft.

The writing was perhaps on the wall for Stidham during the 2022 draft when New England selected Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe with the 137th pick in the fourth round.

That put Stidham on the bubble, and rather than letting him compete, the Pats decided to move on.

All signs point toward second-year man Mac Jones and Zappe being strong bets to make the team in 2022 with veteran Brian Hoyer possibly figuring into the mix as well.

When the Patriots drafted Stidham, there was some thought that he would be the heir apparent to Tom Brady, and he even saw limited action in three games as Brady's backup during his rookie season.

After Brady left the Pats for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency, there was a period where it looked like Stidham would be the starter in 2020. Instead, New England signed veteran Cam Newton in free agency and gave him the starting job.

Stidham played quite a bit in a backup capacity in 2020, going 22-of-44 for 256 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Newton struggled mightily in 2020 and the Patriots missed the playoffs, which prompted head coach Bill Belichick to select Jones with the 15th pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

Jones immediately won the starting job, leading to Newton's release. While Stidham was with the team last season, he didn't see any game action.

Now, Stidham will have a legitimate chance to be the primary backup behind Derek Carr in Las Vegas, as he will compete with Nick Mullens, Garrett Gilbert and undrafted rookie Chase Garbers for that role.

He may have a leg up because of the familiarity he will have in Vegas' system since new Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels was the Patriots' offensive coordinator.

Stidham is still only 25 years old and may have some untapped potential McDaniels can unlock.