Notes, observations from final practice before initial 53-man roster cut down

Roll call: The notable absences of Monday’s 30-minute viewing period included WR Drake London, OT Kaleb McGary, G Jalen Mayfield, DL Marlon Davidson, CB Darren Hall, RB Cordarrelle Patterson and ILB Dorian Etheridge (who had to be carted off the field during Saturday’s game with the Jaguars). London and Davidson’s absences because of injuries continue to be noteworthy.

Smith said after practice McGary was sick, but it’s nothing serious. Hall is dealing with a personal matter and should be back next week. Patterson was on a recovery/rest day, and will ramp back up for Week 1. Mayfield – who missed Friday’s joint practice because of sickness – was sick again on Monday. However, Smith did add that Mayfield is continuing to work through a lower back issue that has plagued him all camp. With the 53-man cut down quickly approaching, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Mayfield is stashed on IR after the initial release to make room for Justin Shaffer on the active roster. Something to consider since this back issue has lingered for Mayfield.

As for London, Smith said he wouldn’t make a prediction about when the rookie receiver would return, but he ultimately “feels good about where he’s at.”

Offensive line shake up: With McGary and Mayfield not participating on Monday, Germain Ifedi slotted into the first-team right tackle role in McGary’s place. Shaffer ran in Mayfield’s spot as the second-team left guard.

As for center, it was Drew Dalman‘s day to work with the ones and Marcus Mariota. I would caution against reading too much into that note, though. Even with the preseason having come to a close, Smith confirmed it was just Dalman’s day to run with the first team. Smith continued by saying he does not want to keep this competition with Dalman and Matt Hennessy going through the season’s start. He won’t rotate them during the season. When asked about the timeline of said decision, Smith said that they’re close to reaching one. However, the battle still rages on.

“I want to step back because the competition has been so competitive,” Smith said. “I’ve told both the guys that they’ve handled it really well. That’s not an easy thing to do… I want to take a step back and go back through everything so we can take emotion out of it and make a good, objective decision.”