Jon Gruden claims players are ‘dying’ to play for the Raiders

The Oakland Raiders have sunken into a deep hole through the first half of the season, dropping seven out of their first eight games played.

There has also been a cloud of doubt around the organization given the lack of success the team has had with head coach Jon Gruden at the helm. Despite that, Gruden has continued to stay on the uplifting route stating that he has talked to players that want to go play for the Raiders, according to Paul Guiterrez of ESPN.

“I get a lot of phone calls from people that are dying to come play here. I’m just telling you. They’re dying to play for the Raiders,” Gruden told Long. “And to have salary-cap space and to have a chance to talk to the people that you really want to wear the silver and black, the guys you really want to wear the silver and black and represent this team, that’s exciting.”

There may be players stating that they want to play for Gruden and the Raiders, but at this point, there is no way of telling if that is the case. It may be him simply pumping up the franchise, but it’s a matter that only time will tell if it is the truth.

In the meantime, Gruden will have the task of pushing his team through the second half of the season strong with the playoffs seemingly out of the picture. This could be a telling stretch of how committed the players are to his game plan and outlook.

With the Raiders giving him a 10-year contract, this is a long-term play with Gruden that the franchise will have to take their lumps this season.