NFL Notes: Las Vegas, Panthers, Raiders & Ravens

Las Vegas

Ben Volin of the Boston Globe recently spoke with multiple owners who said that they didn’t discuss the Raiders possibly moving to Las Vegas at the recent owners meeting.

In fact, the owners who spoke to Volin said that no owners have seen any research, market studies, or plans about how the Raiders and how an NFL franchise would succeed in Las Vegas.

An NFL insider tells Volin that the Bay Area has much more value to the NFL than does Vegas. Because of this, Volin’s source believes the Raiders’ best option is for them to remain in Oakland long-term, considering that the Bay Area comes in as the sixth-largest TV market, while Vegas is 42nd.

Panthers

Panthers WR Stephen Hill, who is coming off of ACL surgery, said he isn’t worried about the increased level of competition in training camp this year for a roster with a total 14 receivers on Carolina’s 90-man roster.

“I’m just going to do what I have to do now, and we’ll see what happens in training camp,” Hill said, via Panthers.com. “Every year you have to prove it, but I’m just going to take it day by day.”

Hill added that he has no plans to rush a return to the practice field.

“I wanted to be out here,” Hill said. “But I’m not going to be in any rush. You want to be out there with the guys, but you’ve just got to take your time.

“I’m just trying to do all I can with what they’ve given me to do, and then I’ll just go from there.”

Raiders

Free agent acquisition Bruce Irvin says he spoke to the Raiders and offered his support for taking West Virginia S Karl Joseph in round. helped offered his support for

“I know what type of player he is. I know the dedication he puts in,” Irvin said, via Scott Bair of CSN Bay Area. “He’s small, but he plays big. He plays bigger than what he is. He’s a dog. He came from my school, so that’s another reason why. I wouldn’t ask them to bring somebody in who wasn’t going to be able to help us.”

Ravens

Raven TE Dennis Pitta said he feels “really good physically“, despite sustaining multiple hip injuries over the past few years.

“To be honest, I feel really good physically out there,” Pitta said, via the Baltimore Sun. “I haven’t played football for awhile, so there are things that I’m getting back used to. But overall I can’t complain. I feel like I’m running like I want to, and I used to, so that’s very encouraging.

“I feel good, I don’t have any lingering issues, nothing that I’m worried about,” said Pitta. “I’m encouraged by how I feel and how I’m moving and excited to hopefully get back to playing to the level that I was.”