The Oakland Raiders made a slew of blockbuster moves during free agency, including trading for star wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Aside from the new roster acquisitions, the Raiders have their fair share of storylines this offseason. Jon Gruden is entering the second season of his 10-year deal; Oakland holds three first-round draft picks; it's the final season at the Coliseum; and don't forget about first-year general manager Mike Mayock. It would certainly make for good TV.
When asked about the possibility of having the Raiders featured on HBO's Hard Knocks this summer, owner Mark Davis said participating in the show would be too much of a distraction.
"It would be disruptive," Davis said, per Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. "We've got a lot of business to take care of, get ready for the season. I appreciate that they might think we'd be great TV, but we got something to accomplish."
Davis joked at the Annual League Meeting in Phoenix that if the Raiders are chosen he would fire Gruden so the network would be forced to select a different squad.
"I'll just fire Jon and then hire him back [after another team is chosen]," he said.
The Raiders are one of five teams eligible to participate in the reality series. The Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants and Washington Redskins are also Hard Knocks hopefuls.
A team has the right to not participate if: (1) They have a first-year head coach in place; (2) They have a playoff berth in the past two seasons; (3) They have appeared on Hard Knocks in the past 10 years.
A team can also volunteer to participate on the reality show.
Gruden, who is entering the second year of his 10-year contract, said, per ESPN, he is fine with the team appearing on the show -- which shouldn't come as a surprise since the former Monday Night Football analyst is no stranger to the spotlight.
No timeline has been set for the official announcement, but previous participants were announced in mid-May.
