Benson Mayowa piling on sacks for Raiders

ALAMEDA - Benson Mayowa resists the urge to call 2019 a breakout season even though he's already logged a career-high seven sacks.

“I've been doing it, but sometimes, playing ball, we go off numbers,” Mayowa said Wednesday following practice. “We don't go off film too much. I feel like if you've been watching, I've been doing it. It's just the numbers haven't been there.”

In his seventh season out of Idaho and his second stint with the Raiders, the 6-foot-3, 265-pound Mayowa had 1½ sacks against the Chargers. He's had sacks in five of eight games, and the seven sacks is tied for 11th in the NFL. Not Pro Bowl material perhaps, but it ties Mayowa with celebrated 49ers rookie Nick Bosa and is more than the three players who have won the last four NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards - Aaron Donald twice (6), Khalil Mack (5½) and J.J. Watt (4).

Coach Jon Gruden could give a seminar on why sacks aren't the be-all and end-all when it comes to measuring the worth of a pass rusher, but he's willing to get excited enough about Mayowa to invoke some vintage (1973) Elton John.

“He's got more sacks than a lot of the great sack artists that are out there,” Gruden said. “He's ‘Bennie and the Jets.' He brings the Jets. He really energizes the room.”

Mayowa has been the most consistent threat off the edge on a Raiders team that has gone from an astonishingly low 13 sacks in 16 games in 2018 to 20 in nine games this year. Not great, but better.

Opponents know it, too. The Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday will likely do some chipping on Mayowa with tight ends and running backs.

“They've got to account for us now,” Mayowa said. “It's not like, ‘Oh, they don't have a pass rush. They can't get to the quarterback.' They have to game-plan it. That's going to take away from other assets in their game.”

Mayowa played for the Raiders in 2014-15 under Dennis Allen, Tony Sparano and Jack Del Rio. He spent 2016-17 with Dallas, where Raiders special teams coach Rich Bisaccia held that role with the Cowboys and Rod Marinelli, Gruden's former defensive line coach with Tampa Bay, ran the defense.

“He's a veteran that's been trained by the best,” Gruden said.

Last season, Mayowa played in Arizona and had four sacks.

The Raiders have managed Mayowa's snap count to keep him fresh. The 31 snaps he played against the Chargers were the most this season.

“I'm still in the league. If you track how I came in, it's been a long ride,” Mayowa said. “I've shown flashes. It's just been a good year for me and I credit that to the rest of the guys and the coverage.”

Jordan off and running

Dion Jordan, the former No. 3 overall pick in the 2013 draft as a defensive end out of Oregon, got in his first full practice in 10 months and was encouraged.

Having served a 10-game suspension for Adderall, which is considered a performance-enhancing drug, Jordan was cleared to join the Raiders Tuesday, an off day which he spent getting a crash course in the defensive system.

“It felt great, man, to put the helmet on, be with the guys and just kind of get my feet wet again,” Jordan said.

Jordan has been living in the Bay Area and working out at Tareq Azim's Empower Gym in San Francisco with an eye toward his return date. Having served suspensions for both PEDs and substances of abuse, Jordan saw staying in the Bay Area with a support system already in place as a no-brainer.

After one conversation with general manager Mike Mayock, Jordan (6-foot-6, 275 pounds) said he slept on it, then canceled other potential visits to sign with the Raiders.

“I didn't want to waste my time,” Jordan said. “I'm going to stay here and do what I can to help this team win.”

Gruden conceded having Jordan active against the Bengals may be overly ambitious but also said he wouldn't rule it out, depending on how practice sessions go Thursday and Friday.

“I'm going to do whatever I have to do mentally and physically and I'm going to just put it up to them to pull the trigger,” Jordan said. “I'm going to prove it on the field and in the film room that I'm doing my best. After that, the rest will fall into place.”

The Raiders are thin at defensive end with Arden Key going on injured reserve with a broken foot.

Evansville talking point

How do you avoid overlooking the 0-9 Cincinnati Bengals? Just bring up the Evansville Purple Aces, of course.

Both Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr made unsolicited references to the Missouri Valley Conference school that stunned No. 1-ranked Kentucky Monday night.

“You ever hear of the Evansville basketball team? They just went into Lexington and beat the No. 1 team last night,” Gruden said. “This is pro sports. This is the NFL. I don't really care about anybody's record.”

A short time later, Carr said, “Just last night, Kentucky, No. 1 team in the nation, lost to someone no one thought they'd lose to.”

Carr insisted the Evansville references were a coincidence.

“He's rubbing off on me,” Carr said of Gruden.

Nearly full strength

The so-called “mini-bye” which follows a Thursday night game left the Raiders in good shape for practice. Many veterans and those nursing injuries were also given Monday off so younger players and newer players could get in some extra work.

The only player on the 53-man roster who missed practice was Lamarcus Joyner, who has a hamstring pull and isn't expected to face Cincinnati. Those who were limited included right tackle Trent Brown (knee), center Rodney Hudson (ankle), running back Josh Jacobs (shoulder), defensive end Josh Mauro (groin) and tackle David Sharpe (calf).

Mauro, a solid run defender on early downs, has missed the last two games. When Jordan is healthy enough to play, that adds two more bodies to go along with rookies Clelin Ferrell and Maxx Crosby.

“We are what we are,” Gruden said. “We've got some Band-Aids and we're using everything we've got.”

Notes

The Raiders did not put in a claim on cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, a first-round draft pick (and Mayock's No. 2-rated corner) in the 2016 NFL draft. Hargreaves was claimed by Texas.

Gruden brushed aside the question of whether the Raiders planned on attending Colin Kaepernick's workout scheduled for Saturday in Atlanta.

“I don't know,” Gruden said. “I'm going to answer questions about the Bengals.”