Getty Alec Ingold with Darren Waller and Foster Moreau.
It’s been a tough start to the season for the Las Vegas Raiders healthwise. They’ve lost two players for the season already and have only had star running back Josh Jacobs for one of three games due to an ankle injury. The team appears to be getting a bit healthier heading into Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers but some surprising information was dropped on Sunday.
Starting fullback Alec Ingold has been listed as questionable heading into Monday Night Football.
#Raiders added FB Alec Ingold (shoulder) to the injury report. QUESTIONABLE for Monday night.
Ingold didn’t carry an injury designation all week so it’s hard to know exactly how and when he suffered the injury. With the team’s offensive line struggling this season, the Raiders really need Ingold to play so that he can help keep Derek Carr upright and open up lanes for the running backs. Also, he’s become a threat in the passing game. He had a receiving touchdown against the Miami Dolphins just last week. The Raiders don’t have another fullback on the roster, which could be an issue if Ingold can’t go. He has yet to miss a game during his three seasons with the team.
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Jacobs Also Questionable
GettyJosh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders.
As noted earlier, Jacobs has missed the Raiders’ last two games. It’s seriously affected the team’s ability to run the ball consistently. They are currently 25th in the NFL with 91.3 rushing yards a game. The Raiders were expecting Jacobs to have a big year but it’s been a rough start. The Chargers’ defense is vulnerable against the run so having Jacobs would seriously help Las Vegas. However, head coach Jon Gruden doesn’t sound confident that he’ll be reading to go.
“We’ll have to see how it goes in the next few days,” Gruden said earlier in the week. “I would say it’s really questionable, his status right now. But it’s good to have everybody back at practice.”
Jacobs is a tough player but the Raiders aren’t going to risk his injury getting worse this early in the season. He was a limited participant in practice all week. His status on Monday could go either way.
Gruden Talks Offensive Line
A big reason why the Raiders would like to get Jacobs is back is due to the fact that the offensive line isn’t creating a ton of holes. Kenyan Drake and Peyton Barber aren’t dynamic enough to make something happen if there’s nothing there. The team’s offensive line is young and it’s showing. Gruden believes that the group will eventually figure things out.
“We’re getting there,” Gruden said of the offensive line. “We need to put a complete performance together; that’s what we need to do. And we’ve had spurts where it’s been pretty doggone good and there’s been spurts where it needs to be better … We’re still inexperienced and young at some positions, but [Alex] Leatherwood is working with a guy that just got here [Jermaine Eluemunor]. Andre [James] has really started half a dozen games in his career. The snap accuracy wasn’t as good as it needs to be yesterday, and John Simpson is a young player. So it’s going to take some time. Development doesn’t happen overnight, but we’re getting better.”
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