Greg Papa’s years with the Raiders ended badly, but the old wounds sound a lot less raw now.
Papa, who was the team’s play-by-play voice from 1997 to 2018 and became one of Al Davis’s most trusted allies, says his relationship with Mark Davis has started to heal after a difficult breakup that once sent the “Touchdown Raaaiders” caller out the door. The split came in 2018, when Brent Musberger took over the microphone after a rift with the owner.
The tension between Papa and Mark Davis had been building for years, and one of the flashpoints came when the Raiders allowed Mike Shanahan to interview for the head coaching job. Papa was blunt about it at the time.
“I was extremely outspoken about how it could not happen, in my opinion,” Papa told The Mercury News in 2018. “I threatened to quit as the voice of the team and I would have no association with (Shanahan).
The reason I was doing it was my love and respect for Al Davis. I felt it to be beyond my comprehension - it still is - that Mike Shanahan could interview to be the head coach of the Oakland Raiders.
Knowing how much Al Davis loathed him, it just couldn’t happen.”
After his departure, Papa said the relationship with Mark Davis never really recovered.
“We never were able to mend fences, Mark Davis and I,” Papa said on his Bay Area radio show after his departure from the Raiders. “Whenever we were around each other, standing right next to each other many, many times, I reached out to him to say hi (and) he ignored me.
I thought over time it would dissipate. I thought over time, especially with Jon Gruden coming back, it would really go away.”
Now, after a year-long fight with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Papa says things have changed. He was declared cancer free in July, and he says the Raiders have been part of that healing too.
Papa recently thanked the people who stood by him during a tough year, and he singled out several current and former Raiders in the process.
On Raiders owner Mark Davis…
“He offered me right away to come to Vegas and light Al’s torch whenever I was able. You know, ‘Once a Raider, always a Raider.’
So he welcomed me back in the family. He’d call me a lot.
One time he was FaceTiming me before a Monday night game, but I had a lumbar puncture in my back, so I couldn’t quite answer the phone at the moment. He texted me just two nights ago.
It’s amazing. Our parting there was not good, but this whole thing has brought me back in the Raider family to some degree and I feel the love from them.”
On Raider Nation Radio voice ‘JT the Brick’…
“JT’s constantly texting me, lifting me up, encouraging me, and talking to Raider Nation about me, giving them updates.”
On former Raiders GM Bruce Allen..
“[Bruce] sent me a beautiful text about six weeks ago, and I haven’t spoken to Bruce since he left and went to Washington. I’ve seen him but we haven’t gone back and forth like this.”
Papa also said he had a long text exchange with former Raiders executive Michael Lombardi.
Even with the Raiders chapter reopened a little, Papa’s radio career has taken another hit. He was laid off by KNBR Radio on August 6, 2026, despite joining the Bay Area station in June 2019 after leaving 95.7 The Game and moving on to work with the 49ers.
For now, the former Raiders voice is back in the family, at least in spirit, after years when that seemed impossible.
In Other News...
Malik Benson Just Put His Raiders Opening Week Case In Trouble
Fernando Mendozas preseason outing against the Texans had its bright spots and its ugly ones, but for Malik Benson, the tape will mostly be remembered for the missed chances. The Raiders rookie wide receiver, who has flashed enough in training camp to generate some optimism, managed one catch for 18 yards while also putting two passes on the ground in a game where every clean rep mattered.
Benson came into the summer with a real opening to strengthen his case for regular-season snaps, especially as a late-round pick trying to carve out a role. Instead, the kind of mistakes that can linger in the minds of coaches showed up at an inopportune time, leaving his path to Week 1 looking a little less secure than it did before this preseason test. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Fans Will Notice How Fernando Mendoza Responded To One Brutal Mistake
Fernando Mendozas preseason debut for the Raiders had the kind of jolt that can change a game in a hurry, and it came on a play he would probably like to forget. The rookie quarterback threw an interception that Houston Texans rookie linebacker Wade Woodaz turned into an 80-yard touchdown, a swing that immediately put Mendoza under a brighter spotlight as he continued working through the early stages of his NFL career.
What stood out, though, was the way Mendoza reacted after the mistake. Instead of easing up, he chased Woodaz and tried to make the tackle before the score was complete, a small but telling detail about how he handled the moment. Troy Aikman also noted on the broadcast that the play may have been the result of a miscommunication rather than a simple misread, which leaves the Raiders with a familiar preseason question - how much of a costly turnover was a quarterback mistake, and how much was just the kind of timing issue young passers have to clean up. [Read more 🡒]
Aidan OConnell May Have Just Ended A Raiders QB Debate
Aidan OConnell got the second-half chance in the Raiders preseason game against the Texans and made it count in a way that could matter long after August. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 166 yards, posted an 83.0 passer rating and even added a rushing touchdown, then capped the night by guiding Las Vegas on a 98-yard game-winning drive in a 22-20 win.
For a team still sorting out its quarterback pecking order, that kind of finish carries real weight. OConnell has been working to lock down the No. 2 job behind Kirk Cousins, and a poise-filled comeback drive in the preseason is exactly the sort of showing that can tilt a debate in his favor, even if the final call is still waiting to be made. [Read more 🡒]