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The Las Vegas Raiders have hit a rough patch when it comes to injuries. They’ve already put two key offensive starters on the injured reserve and now they’re sending two defensive players. The team announced on Friday that first-round pick cornerback Damon Arnette and defensive tackle Daniel Ross are headed to the IR.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Arnette should miss between 6 and 8 weeks with a thumb injury.
Arnette had started the first three games for the Raiders so his loss is a big blow. He struggled at times but was getting better. He’s a very tough player so he’ll get back on the field as soon as he’s physically able to. Don’t be surprised if he’s back closer to six weeks than he is eight.
Ross hasn’t had much of a role on the defense quite yet and he’s dealing with a foot problem. His loss won’t be as impactful as Arnette’s but his familiarity with defensive line coach Rod Marinelli was supposed to be a help.
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Jon Gruden Addresses Injury Woes
It’s been a brutal year for injuries for a lot of teams across the NFL. While the Raiders have been hit hard, there are two teams within their division that got hit even worse. Head coach Jon Gruden knows that his team has been hit really hard but he understands that they’ve got to roll with the punches.
“We’ve lost five receivers, two right tackles and a left guard and a middle linebacker,” Gruden said Friday. “Anytime you lose a starter it’s a gut punch, but you got to take punches in this league if you’re going to survive, if you’re going to be a coach, that’s for sure.”
It’s going to be hard to win the AFC West when the Kansas City Chiefs seem to be the one team that’s staying healthy, as well as having the most talent. The Raiders dealt with a lot of injuries last year and should be more equipped to handle things this year.
The team may be 2-1 but they haven’t been super consistent all year. Gruden thinks that they will improve as the season goes on.
“The big thing is you’re still learning your football team,” Gruden said. “We’re still getting to know each other. I think every coach in the league would tell you that. You really don’t know what’s coming out of the box sometimes.”
Amik Robertson Has Illness
As if the injury problems weren’t bad enough for the Raiders, they could be without rookie cornerback Amik Robertson. According to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, Robertson is questionable to play on Sunday with an illness.
He was a candidate to get more snaps with Arnette out but that looks like it could be in jeopardy in Week 4. Now, it’s important to keep in mind that if Robertson tested positive for COVID-19, the team would have to report that. It appears that he’s dealing with some other kind of illness. Robertson was considered to be one of the steals of the draft but hasn’t seen the field much yet. With Arnette out for a while, he could see his role expand a little bit.
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