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The injury issues are piling up early in the season for the Las Vegas Raiders. They’ve already lost defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and starting guard Denzelle Good for the season. Things aren’t getting much better as the team may have just dropped their most brutal injury report of the season.
Las Vegas announced that they are sending cornerbacks Damon Arnette and Trayvon Mullen to the Injured Reserve along with tight end Derek Carrier.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Carrier tore a pec last week and will be done for the season. Arnette suffered a groin injury against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday while Mullen hurt his toe. Neither practiced all week and were ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears so it’s not a surprise that they’re both headed to the IR. However, it’s unclear how badly either of them is hurt. The hope will be that they’ll both return after the minimum three weeks out is reached.
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Jalen Richard & Keisean Nixon Returning
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GettyLas Vegas Raiders RB Jalen Richard.
While the Raiders have mostly received bad injury news this season, they finally got some good news. The team also announced that running back Jalen Richard and cornerback Keisean Nixon have been activated from the Injured Reserve. They both started the season on the IR and should be making their 2021 debuts soon.
Richard will be a welcome addition as he is the best of the Raiders’ running backs at blocking. The offensive line has been a mess this season so they could use the blocking help. Richard can also be a factor in the passing game. Nixon is mostly a special teams ace but he’ll see some time on defense with Mullen and Arnette out. This will be an excellent opportunity for him to step up. Both players are now on the team’s active roster but there’s no guarantee they’ll end up playing against the Bears on Sunday. The Raiders could look to ease them in a little bit more.
Losing Mullen Is Brutal Development
The biggest loss for the Raiders is Mullen, who has developed into a solid No. 2 cornerback next to Casey Hayward. According to Pro Football Focus, he’s the 24th rated cornerback in the NFL through four games. That’s not elite but it’s certainly above average for a No. 2 cornerback. He’s also responsible for the team’s only interception this season.
The 2019 second-round pick out of Clemson has been solid for the Raiders and has yet to miss a game until Sunday. He’ll now be missing at least three. The team hasn’t offered too much insight on what exactly is wrong with him outside of the fact that it’s a toe injury. Considering there hasn’t been anything saying he’s done for the year is a good sign that he’ll be back eventually. The Raiders will need Amik Robertson and newcomer Brandon Facyson to pick up a lot of slack while Mullen gets healthy.
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