Gruden says Raiders 'aren't tanking anything' despite 1-5 start

The Oakland Raiders aren't where head coach Jon Gruden hoped they would be after he signed a 10-year, $100-million deal in January.

But despite a 1-5 record entering the bye week, Gruden remains hopeful.

"We aren't tanking anything," he said, according to Josh Dubow of The Associated Press. "We are not getting up at 4 o'clock in the morning to tank it. Ain't nobody tanking it."

After starting their season with losses to the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, and Miami Dolphins, the Raiders secured their first win in overtime against the Cleveland Browns. The bounce back was short-lived, however, as Oakland lost its next two games against the Los Angeles Chargers and the Seattle Seahawks, getting outscored 53-13 across the two contests.

"We are going to continue to work hard, continue to build our team, and that was part of the message," Gruden added.

Before the season, the Raiders traded star pass-rusher Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears for a handful of draft picks and have reportedly made receiver Amari Cooper and safety Karl Joseph available for trades.

Meanwhile, linebacker Derrick Johnson was released Tuesday, and there could be more moves in the near future.

"We're still looking at this roster," Gruden said. "We're looking around the league to find means to get better."

The Raiders will look for victory number two as they play host in Week 8 to the Indianapolis Colts.