Levi Edwards

The last day of the Raiders' mandatory minicamp began with a position coach rolling out pun intended a large inflatable hamster ball onto the practice field.

It set the tone for a fun day of practice before the Silver and Black set their sights on training camp in late July.

"I was a little concerned because this is kind of like the last day of school, kids get a little crazy, and they do some crazy things and stuff because they know there getting out," Pete Carroll said Thursday. "I was a little concerned, so we addressed that, and they brought all their love and energy today to this effort that we had."

With Carroll's notable mantra of "competition" being at the forefront, the intensity was high to go along with the fun to start practice. As minicamp comes to an end, here are some notes and quotes to wrap it all up.

• The competition in the running back room is still high as Carroll looks to turn around the unit that ranked last in the league in rushing yards in 2024. "We're going to let the guys play for their play time," Carroll said of the running back room. "Raheem, I love having him. He's an experienced guy that's been a great speedster for years. ... And I think Zamir had a really, really good camp too. He made a statement of being the bigger of the guys. He's really fast and he's the biggest guy that we have.
• "Ashton looks every bit what we had hoped he would look like," Carroll added. "He caught the ball really well. He understood stuff, took everything really seriously, gave terrific effort throughout. We made a big deal to him. Everybody's watching you, and he embraced the thought of it. And so, it's going to be really exciting to see what happens. We got Sincere back. ... He had a couple really nice games last year, and he showed really good quickness and kind of a knack for running the ball. So, when we go to camp it'll just be game on, and we'll see what happens."

• Brock Bowersput on a show, reeling in a multitude of catches at various levels of difficulty. He worked the middle of the field and the sidelines, continuously moving the chains in team period. Overall, it's been a productive minicamp for the whole tight end room, withMichael Mayer,Ian ThomasandQadir Ismailalso seeing a high volume of targets.

• "The two of them just went head to head just trying to make a play," Carroll said of Bowers and Mayer. "Make a play here and there and going back and forth and they're just great contributors. It's a terrific position group for us. Ian Thomas coming in really, really livens it up as well."

• Geno Smithfound the end zone a few times, the most highlight worthy being a dart toTre Tuckernear the back of the right pylon with two defenders in the area. The Raiders quarterback hasn't shied away from the deep ball throughout OTAs and minicamp, with Tucker and rookie receiverDont'e Thornton Jr.the main beneficiaries.

• "He operates like a leader, he controls the offense, he gets everybody on the same page and that's really the key," guard Alex Cappa said of Smith. "If everyone's on the same page and you've got good players and you're competing, you've got a good chance. And he really sets the tone with how he handles the offense as a whole."
• The defensive side of the ball continued to make plays in the secondary.Darnay Holmes, a day removed from two interceptions in practice, put himself in position for a few pass breakups alongsideJakorian Bennett.
• There were several turnovers throughout the day including two interceptions and a forced fumble. The first interception was off a tipped pass which fell into the hands of rookie defensive tackleTonka Hemingway. The second came a few plays later, withDevin Whitekeying in near the sideline to make a break on the ball.
• "The first thing I said to them in the first football meeting that we had was, it's all about the ball," Carroll said. "And today I started this last meeting that we had, it's all about the ball. ... [I]n a mode in this offseason where you can't be physical, you can't hit guys, you can't tackle anybody, you have to use your imagination. That's a sight in the football when you're attacking it and showing that you sight it and the gestures that you make to show us that you had a shot to punch at the football or take a shot at it, all of those things are the things we value really highly."