On Monday morning, we had a post featuring quotes from Raiders cornerback D.J. Hayden saying that he’s feeling “a whole lot better” than he did during a rookie season that was marred by injuries.
Things looked a bit different by Monday afternoon. Hayden sat out the Raiders’ OTA session and wore a walking boot on his right foot and coach Dennis Allen said after practice that Hayden rolled his ankle last week.
“I don’t expect it to be anything serious,” Allen said, via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle.
One of the reasons why Allen and Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver have been talking Hayden up a lot this offseason is the expectation that a full offseason will make a big impact on a player who was sidelined by abdominal surgery last spring and limited to non-contact work for much of camp. If the ankle isn’t serious, that plan won’t be affected much, but Hayden will benefit from as much work as he can get this offseason.