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It’s been over a month since the Oakland Raiders lost Karl Joseph for the season with a foot injury, but the specifics of the injury weren’t immediately revealed because the swelling in his foot was too great. It was bad enough that it caused him to miss the second half of his contract ending season. Now, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur has revealed that the veteran safety is suffering from plantar fasciitis in his right foot and has gotten a couple of screws put into his foot.
Plantar fasciitis is an injury that involves the inflammation of a tissue that connects the heel bone to the toes. Joseph’s teammate Tyrell Williams has also been dealing with the injury throughout the season, though it hasn’t been bad enough to keep him out of many games.
Fortunately for Joseph, it looks like he’ll be ready to go for offseason workouts and programs. However, it remains to be seen if he’ll be wearing silver and black during those programs.
Karl Joseph Wants to Stay With Raiders
During the previous offseason, the Raiders declined Joseph’s option for a fifth year. That means he’ll be an unrestricted free agent once the season ends. Before this season, it seemed like the team would let him walk, but he’s made it clear he’d like to stay with the team for the move to Las Vegas.
“Of course,” answered Joseph when asked if he wanted to stay with the Raiders back in November. “This is the team that drafted me. I love playing with this group of guys. I love playing for this coaching staff. I love playing in coach Guenther’s system. I think it’s a great system for me, for the safeties . . . it’s out of my control. All I can do is get healthy.”
The Raiders have been hurting at safety all season and things got worse once Joseph went down for the year. Though he hasn’t exactly lived up to his status as a high first-round pick, the team is going to have an interesting decision on their hands.
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Will Raiders Re-Sign Him?
Joseph was rated as the Raiders’ best defender in 2018 by Pro Football Focus. He was having a strong season in 2019 and it was looking like he was playing his way into another contract. He made an amazing game-winning play against the Los Angeles Chargers on the play that he got hurt on. Jon Gruden loves players that will put their body on the line like that.
“He’s a hard guy to replace,” said Gruden about Joseph back in November. “One of my favorite guys… Karl, if you’re listening, hopefully, you’re getting well soon.”
Gruden has made it clear that he is a fan of Joseph. That works in his favor once free agency starts. He’s likely to get some interest from other teams, but the Raiders have the advantage here. Considering the team has used high draft picks on safeties quite a bit over the last several years, the Raiders should bring back Joseph and focus on fixing the linebacker and wide receiver positions.
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