The Raiders have had to cut practice short twice this week due to poor air quality as wildfires continue to ravage the area, but the NFL says Sunday's home game against the Chargers is still on track to be played in Oakland.
League spokesman Joe Lockhart said on a conference call Friday morning that the league will continue to monitor air quality as haze from the Wine Country fires blankets the entire Bay Area. He acknowledged the NFL has looked at possible backup sites for the game but would not specify where, saying only he "would expect it to be an NFL stadium."
The Los Angeles Coliseum would seem to be a strong possibility, as the Rams are at Jacksonville on Sunday. The stadium will host USC vs. Utah at 5 p.m. PT Saturday, about 20 hours before when Raiders-Chargers would occur if kept at its scheduled kickoff time.
NFL says if Raiders game needs to moved that decision would quite likely need to be made today
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) October 13, 2017
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The Air Quality Index for Oakland is projected to be in the "Unhealthy" range at least through Friday and Saturday. At that stage, the Environmental Protection Agency suggests "People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion. Everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion."
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, receiver Michael Crabtree and other Raiders players wore masks while practicing Thursday.
Michael Crabtree and several other #Raiders wearing a mask at practice today due to air quality. Team has adjusted schedule #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/dELfpbyoC6
— Mark Carpenter (@MarkCarpenterHI) October 12, 2017
