Getty Las Vegas Raiders OG Richie Incognito.
Like many other teams in the NFL right now, the Las Vegas Raiders have been hit pretty hard with injuries. Against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2, the team was without Pro Bowl right tackle Trent Brown and starting middle linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski. Veteran left guard Richie Incognito tried to play through an Achilles injury but he didn’t last long before he was ruled out.
It appears as if the injury was worse than the team originally thought because they’ve placed him on the injured reserve.
We have elevated G Patrick Omameh to the active roster.
In a corresponding move, we have placed G Richie Incognito on the Reserve/Injured List. More » t.co/Ti7MLtWlFS
Fortunately, this isn’t a season-ending injury for Incognito as he is expected to be back in about three weeks.
Rookie John Simpson played well for Incognito but this is a pretty big blow to the offensive line. Not only is Incognito one of the five best guards in the NFL, but he’s also become a leader on this young offense. With a matchup against a tough New England Patriots defense coming up, the Raiders will have to hope that Simpson is able to step it up in a big way.
Patrick Omameh Promoted From Practice Squad
If Simpson isn’t ready quite yet for such an important job, the Raiders do have an insurance policy. They signed veteran offensive guard Patrick Omameh shortly before the Saints game. He’s got a ton of starting experience and would be a solid replacement for Incognito while he gets healthy.
Also, if Trent Brown can get healthy and take his starting job back at right tackle, that would allow Denzelle Good to play his natural position and fill-in for Incognito. That would be ideal for the Raiders as Good did an excellent job of filling in for him last year. While the loss of Incogintio hurts, they’ve got some of the best depth in the NFL along the offensive line.
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Raiders Injury Report
With the announcement that Incognito is lost for at least three weeks, the Raiders also dropped their weekly injury report and it is stacked. 11 starters are on the list as well as four important backups.
Abram doing ok after that collision Monday. Today’s injury report:
A good sign is that safety Johnathan Abram was a full participant in practice on Wednesday. He had a scary collision on Monday night that looked a lot worse than it ended up being. There’s no reason to believe he won’t play on Sunday.
It is notable that Trent Brown still hasn’t been placed on the injured reserve. That could mean that he’s pretty close getting back on the field. He didn’t practice which is concerning but the Raiders are clearly still holding out hope.
Nick Kwiatkoski, Darren Waller and Josh Jacobs didn’t participate. Waller looked fine all night so there shouldn’t be a concern with him but Jacobs was definitely nursing his hip towards the end of Monday’s game. Considering his injury history, it’s worth keeping an eye on him. Kwiatkoski missed Monday’s game but the fact that he’s not on the injured reserve yet is promising. He could be making his return this week or next.
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