The Raiders opened Week 8 with some encouraging news on the injury front, and right now that matters almost as much as anything else.
Las Vegas has dropped four straight and is searching for any sign that Sunday’s matchup with the New York Jets can finally get it moving in the right direction. The trip comes with its own complications, though, including an earlier kickoff than the Raiders are used to and a list of on-field problems that have piled up on both sides of the ball. Even against a Jets team with its own issues, this does not look like a spot where the Silver and Black can afford to coast.
Still, the injury report offered a few reasons for optimism. Brock Bowers, Folorunso Fatukasi, DJ Glaze, Kwity Paye, Ian Thomas, and Quay Walker all took part in Wednesday’s practice on a limited basis.
Patrick Johnson did not practice. Tight end Carter Runyon also showed up on the report with a foot injury as he came back from Injured Reserve, but he was a full participant on both Wednesday and Thursday.
The pattern continued Thursday, with several of those same names trending in the right direction. Bowers, Paye, and Walker were full participants, while Fatukasi, Glaze, and Thomas remained limited. Johnson missed practice again.
One new name appeared Thursday: offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson. He had not been on Wednesday’s report, but he sat out practice with a back injury, leaving his availability for Sunday uncertain heading into Friday.
For the Raiders, the bigger issue remains performance, not just availability. Klint Kubiak said this week that the coaching staff has held the players accountable and that the players have done the same with one another, but he made it clear that accountability alone is not enough.
“That’s the NFL. Every week you have to respond, and you’ve got to do it 17 weeks in a row.
You can’t sit in those chairs in those team meeting rooms if you’re not an accountable human. If you’re just a talented guy who doesn’t have accountability, you don’t last very long.
Those are the guys we’re looking for as we build our program,” Kubiak said earlier this week.
Kubiak and the rest of the staff are the ones who have to find answers now. Las Vegas has not found them over the last four weeks, and Sunday is another chance to show something different.
There are a few other encouraging signs, too. Running back Ashton Jeanty was not on the injury report Wednesday or Thursday, marking only the third time in eight weeks of regular-season play that he has avoided it altogether. Even so, his health will remain a talking point until he looks fully like himself on the field.
Receiver Jack Bech also returned to practice this week and is believed to be in good shape for Sunday. Kubiak recently talked up what Bech brings to the team.
“I would start with the energy he brings to our team, his love of the game, his work habits. He just has a whole other aura about him when he’s on the field, and his teammates feel it.
Coaches feel it. He’s a really solid run blocker; he’s got strong hands.
Really happy to have him back out there,” Kubiak said earlier this week.
Tonka Hemingway and Treydan Stukes are back fully, and Jalen Nailor is back in the mix as well. With the roster getting healthier, the Raiders have a chance to show that the last month was the low point rather than the norm.
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