London Raiders is not a Clash song, but may be a football team.
The Oakland Raiders — the future Las Vegas Raiders — could temporarily be stopping overseas. With the team looking temporarily homeless for next year, the league and Raiders have discussed relocating all of the Raiders’ home games next season to London, Fox Sports reported Sunday.
It’s a move that Jon Gruden likely would not appreciate. The Raiders played earlier this season across the pond, a trip he was not looking forward to.
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“I hope I can make it, honestly. I’m not great [traveling],” Gruden told NBC Sports in October. “I get claustrophobic. My son was a weightlifter and he won a powerlifting competition in Belarus. I had to fly 14 hours. I had to fly home 14 hours.
“I had vertigo for a month. I couldn’t even lay down, the house was spinning. I am hoping I don’t get vertigo. I’m not a great traveler. I’ll be honest with you, I hate it. I’m not good. I’m concerned. I’m more worried about that than our goal-line offense right now.”
The NFL already announced the Raiders would be among the teams to host an international game next season, along with the Jaguars, Rams, Chargers and Buccaneers. Four of those teams will play in London and one in Mexico.
But no NFL team has ever called London its home, even as the league tries to expand globally. The Raiders could be that test run, with the city of Oakland suing the team for breaking its lease and their new stadium in Vegas not expected to be ready until the 2020 season.
San Diego also has been discussed as a possible layover home city for Gruden’s crew.