Oakland Raiders: Donald Penn’s Motivation for the 2017 Season

11 years into an accomplished career, what’s motivating Oakland Raiders offensive tackle Donald Penn going into the 2017 season?

What drives an 11th-year veteran, two-time Pro Bowler with an NFL story that started as an undrafted free agent and continues as a starter in 156 career games and counting? Oakland Raiders offensive tackle Donald Penn will frame that one pass-rusher, who escaped, as his motivation to improve in the upcoming season.

Nearly six months after quarterback Derek Carr’s ankle injury, Penn still doesn’t feel good about the play when it crosses his mind. For fans still recovering from the unfortunate sequence of events, please look away:

Fans and spectators watched as innocent bystanders and it turned their stomachs. Now, imagine being on the field with an assignment to protect the quarterback injured on the play, and you’ll understand where Penn finds the extra push to improve at 34 years old. He expressed his mindset with local reporters after a team organized activity in May via Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Michael Gehlken:

"You’ve got to try not to think about it too much. It happened. You wish you could go back and get it back. I’ve done that same (pass) set I don’t know how many times on that same field and never just slipped out of nowhere.I’ve never gotten a quarterback hurt before in my life since I’ve been playing. None of my quarterbacks ever got hurt. That was the first. That’s something I take pride in, and I’m going to try my hardest to make sure it doesn’t happen again."

As Penn mentally wrestles with the past, he intends to play at a level above his 2016 Pro Bowl campaign in which he allowed one sack. He further expressed his frustrations via Twitter:

Let’s take a look at the big picture, Penn lined up against top-tier pass-rushers shown in the graphic above and only surrendered a single sack. Sure, his one error carried huge repercussions, but he’s still performing at an elite level.

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For the 2016 season, Pro Football Focus ranked him the No. 10 tackle overall and No. 3 in run blocking among players at his position.

At one point during the previous offseason, Penn’s return seemed uncertain. Nonetheless, general manager Reggie McKenzie re-signed him to a two-year deal. Entering the second year of the contract, the 34-year-old could extend his tenure in Oakland for another year or two.

Despite the front office selecting two offensive tackles during the draft, Penn doesn’t plan on passively handing the baton to the rookies. In the post-practice press conference, he revealed his offseason plan to shed more weight to prepare for the regular season.

“He cut his weight five pounds to 325 last season,” Gehlken said about Penn in his report. “He plans to do so again in 2017, dropping to 320.”

Next: Raiders: 5 Players on roster bubble during 2017 training camp

Don’t worry about the 11th-year veteran going through the motions, the Raiders will attempt to get back to the postseason and make a run for a Super Bowl with a loaded roster. As for Penn, he will aim to finish with a clean season, which means allowing zero sacks. It’s a tough feat but one he can accomplish.