Raiders Sign Rookie RB, Send Starting OL to Injured Reserve

The Las Vegas Raiders are set to be without two of their best players for multiple weeks in a row. Starting right guard Richie Incognito and running back Josh Jacobs were injured heading into the season and still aren’t healthy. Jacobs is doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, which means he likely won’t play.

As preparation for Jacobs not likely playing on Sunday, the Raiders have signed running back Trey Ragas.

Ragas spent the offseason with the team and played in all their preseason games. He’s been on the practice squad to start the season but now gets a chance to hold a spot on the active roster. The undrafted rookie ran for 3,572 yards in four years at Lousiana. Putting him on the active roster is likely a temporary measure. The Raiders haven’t put Jacobs on injured reserve yet so they should be expecting him back soon. Jalen Richard should also be returning from injured reserve soon. He’ll be eligible to return after this week’s game but it remains to be seen if he’s healthy enough yet.

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Richie Incognito to IR

In order to make room for Ragas on the active roster, the Raiders had to send Incognito to the injured reserve. Head coach Jon Gruden recently downplayed the guard’s injury issues.

“I don’t think we’re being cautious,” Gruden said Friday. “I don’t think there’s been a setback, it’s just a calf strain. It’s just taking time, and he won’t play this week.”

Incognito is 38-years-old so his body isn’t as quick to bounce back as it was a decade ago. It dealt with lingering issues last year and that derailed his season. Simply put, the Raiders can’t rely on him to be a consistent starter this season. Second-year guard John Simpson should be manning Incognito’s spot until he returns from injury. This news a particularly bad for the Raiders considering they’ve already lost starting right guard Denzelle Good for the season. The offensive line could become a serious issue for the team this season.

Raiders Activate 2 Players From Practice Squad

The Raiders also announced that they’ll be having a couple of practice squad players playing on Sunday. Defensive back Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and linebacker Patrick Onwuasor have been activated.

This is just a temporary measure for Week 3. Clinton-Dix getting activated shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The Raiders have ruled out two safeties against the Dolphins in Roderic Teamer and Dallin Leavitt. That left just three safeties on the defense in Johnathan Abram, Trevon Moehrig and Tyree Gillespie. All three of those players are very young so adding a veteran like Clinton-Dix to the group was a smart move. It would be a surprise if he wasn’t active for the actual game.

Onwuasor getting activated isn’t as necessary. The Raiders group of linebackers are healthy right now and Nick Kwiatkoski should be returning this week. He’ll likely play a special teams role if he ends up being active.

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