Raiders tackle Donald Penn 'all in' with move to right side

NAPA - Donald Penn has been around long enough to know how the system works.

“I’m not stupid. I’m not dumb. I’m 35 years old,” Penn said Tuesday following his first practice at Raiders training camp. “I understand what’s going on here.”

As Penn was agreeing to a restructured contract, the Raiders floated the idea of him playing some right tackle. Penn, who has 170 NFL starts and three Pro Bowls on the left side, said he’d do whatever was asked.

And on Tuesday, Penn came off the physically unable to perform list and found himself as the first-team right tackle. He wasn’t eased into it, either. Penn took every first-team snap and participated in pass-blocking drills in a padded practice.

“The first time we went out there he went to the left side,” quarterback Derek Carr said. “We kind of just looked at him and waited.”

The Raiders’ intentions are clear. Kolton Miller, the first-round draft pick out of UCLA, will be the starting left tackle unless he’s injured or struggles against the NFL’s elite pass rushers.

On the right side, veteran Breno Giacomini has been out more than two weeks with a sore knee, Ian Silberman has moved from guard to tackle, second-year player David Sharpe needs experience and rookie third-round pick Brandon Parker has been hurt and missed practice time.

That makes Penn the likely starter at right tackle, and gives the Raiders some experienced insurance if they need him at left tackle.

“Today it felt awkward and rusty,” Penn said. “I need time to develop. I don’t know if it’s going to be a permanent thing or not yet. I told ‘em I’m all for it. We’ve got a young kid over there, he’s doing a lot of good things.”

Before Tuesday, Penn’s only experience at right tackle came in an emergency situation in the 2016 regular-season opener against the New Orleans Saints. With Menelik Watson and Vadal Alexander both injured by mid-game, the Raiders needed Penn to switch to the right side, with left guard Kelechi Osemele moving to left tackle.

“I was out there battling, holding on for dear life,” Penn recalled. “It was tough.”

This time, Penn has until Sept. 10 to gain a level of comfort with the right side, having to flip the script on footwork and play calls which have been second-nature for the past 12 seasons.

“I almost went the wrong way,” Penn said. “I was thinking left side when (Carr) audibled and luckily Gabe (Jackson) reminded me and I snapped into it right before the snap. That’s part of the timing and part of the stuff that’s going to take a little bit of time. I’m out here working. These guys have been working their butt off. I’ve been watching them and I wanted to try and hop in and not miss a beat.”

The Raiders signed Penn as a free agent in 2014 after they allowed left tackle Jared Veldheer to leave to Arizona in free agency. Their planned replacement, Rodger Saffold, agreed to terms on a contract but failed a physical because of a shoulder injury (he later needed surgery after re-signing with the Rams).

Penn bailed the Raiders out in a big way, providing blindside protection for Carr during his rookie season through last year.

One of the reasons Penn signed with the Raiders and not Washington was talk of moving him to the right side. Penn believed moving to the right was Washington’s way of telling him he was slipping, and he still considered himself a left tackle.

Penn, who held out of training camp last year to bring his salary more in line with the top left tackles, felt differently about the move this year in part because of a Lisfranc injury and foot surgery that made for his most difficult offseason.

“I had a lot of down days where I had to pick myself up,” Penn said. “This is my first major injury, and I’m thinking I’m going to come back fast. It didn’t happen like that. I had to really sit back and have some humble pie.”

An extra serving of that pie arrived when the Raiders made Miller their first draft pick, No. 15 overall.

Penn got over it, and eventually agreed to a contract restructure. Terms were not disclosed, but it is believed Penn’s salary of $6 million was reduced, while he received more guaranteed money over the course of the next two seasons.

Since Miller arrived, Penn has been in his ear with advice, and he was conspicuous on the sideline conversing with Miller during the preseason opener against the Giants.

“Me and Kolton, we’re developing a good friendship,” Penn said. “It’s not like I’m over here jealous. I’m trying to help the kid out so he can be as good as possible because it’s going to help us out as a team. I’m not one of those veteran guys that (say), ‘Oh, he’s taking my spot.’ I’m all in.”