Conley Plays Waiting Game

Gareon Conley spent the first two weeks of training camp doing the same thing over and over: standing on the sideline, arms folded, eyes locked on the practicing going on a few feet away.

 

It was not how Conley nor the Raiders envisioned the start to his NFL career plodding along like this but given how the previous month had played out, there really wasn’t much to complain about.

Oakland’s first-round draft pick had spent the previous three months as the target of a sexual assault investigation that wound up being forwarded to a grand jury before Conley was ultimately cleared, just days after the Raiders had opened training camp.

The situation had loomed overhead like a dark cloud ever since general manager Reggie McKenzie made the decision to grab Conley with the 24th overall selection in this year’s draft. The Raiders front office insisted they had done their due diligence and were confident the situation would be rectified.

Still, it wasn’t until the Cleveland grand jury decided not to file charges against Conley that the team could relax.

“That was pretty much anticipated by us,” Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said, echoing statements he and McKenzie made shortly after the draft. “I am just happy we can now turn our full attention toward football. I know he’s relieved.”