No full offseason, no matter for Raiders’ Devontae Booker. What he’s looking forward to
Devontae Booker waited for the right opportunity to see which NFL teams would be an ideal fit for him.
The wait paid off for the former Grant High School star who signed a one-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders in May.
Even though there were no organized team activities and mandatory minicamp, Booker knew he had to show what he can do during training camp in a short amount of time.
The coaches saw enough of Booker and named him to the 53-man initial roster Saturday.
“I just felt like it was a good opportunity for me to get here and work with these guys in the running back room,” Booker said Monday. “As you see, it paid off with me coming here and working my butt off. With us not having a full offseason with the team and everything, it says a lot about just my work ethic.”
Booker was selected in the fourth round, 136th overall, out of Utah by the Denver Broncos in the 2016 draft. In four NFL seasons, he had 289 carries for 1,303 yards and six touchdowns.
During training camp, Booker competed for the last running spot with Theo Riddick, who was released and later signed to the practice squad.
Booker admitted learning coach Jon Gruden’s playbook was difficult, but says he’s ready.
“Coach Gruden’s playbook is kind of hard to grasp for new players and it’s a lot,” he said. “But I came in here prepared from Day 1 and just was focused on getting that done and it translated onto the field and helped me play fast and I guess that’s what they see.”
Looking back at training camp, Booker felt he learned a lot. He’ll back up Josh Jacobs and Jalen Richard.
He’s looking forward to helping the team.
“This whole month of training camp just worked my tail off,” he said. “My expectations for the team is just get better each day and go out there compete and have fun.
“I know they’re going to put me in the best situation when it’s time to be out on the field and take advantage of my opportunity and make plays and be a playmaker.”
