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In the midst of the blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons, the Las Vegas Raiders almost got catastrophic news. In the second half, Josh Jacobs had to leave the game after rolling his ankle on a tackle. He had a number of injury issues last season that caused him to miss games.
He’s been able to stay relatively healthy this season and it looks like it’s going to stay that way. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Jacobs only sprained his ankle and shouldn’t be a big deal.
Jacobs missing time would’ve been a devastating blow to a team that is still very much in the playoff race. The Raiders can now let out a big sigh of relief. That said, they need to be careful with him. He’s one of their most important offensive players and has put together a strong season despite seeing his production take a bit of a dip.
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Jon Gruden Addresses Injury
It’s no secret that Jon Gruden wants to run the ball. That’s a big reason the team used a first-round pick on Jacobs. When he plays well, the Raiders’ chances of winning are greatly increased. They are 5-2 when he rushes for over 100 yards in a game. The Raiders really dodged a bullet.
“I talked to Josh earlier this morning and he’s confident he’s going to be able to play,” Gruden said Monday. “I don’t think he was 100 percent yesterday, he tried to fight through it. Obviously, [Alec] Ingold is fighting through some things. Jalen Richard showed up and was sick. That was a hard pill for us to swallow at that position, but hopefully, we get [Theo] Riddick and Richard back this week, and hopefully our man Josh Jacobs is ready to roll.”
Las Vegas has a must-win game against the New York Jets this Sunday but they’d be wise to limit his carries. If the Raiders want to make the playoffs, they need him to stay healthy. His season hasn’t been as productive as many were expecting but he’s still fifth in the NFL in rushing yards with 782 and should break 1,000 yards if he doesn’t miss time.
Devontae Booker Will Likely Have Expanded Role
Fortunately for the Raiders, they have a very capable backup should Jacobs sees his snaps limited. Devontae Booker has been really solid for the team since coming over from Denver. He has 326 rushing yards on the year and is averaging an impressive 5.5 yards per carry.
Obviously, the Raiders prefer to have Jacobs on the field but they’d be in good hands with Booker. He should get a lot of work against a winless Jets team. The team should also have Jalen Richard and Theo Riddick back. Neither guy suited up for the Falcons game which hurt the Raiders’ depth at the position. After a bad day on the ground in Atlanta, the hope will be to get things moving once again against the Jets.
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