Injury Report: A Few Key Question Marks For Raiders This Weekend
By Sam McPherson
The Oakland Raiders certainly used their bye week to get healthy, but after just one game back on the gridiron, there are almost twice as many banged up players as there were last week on the team's official injury report this week—and that's never good news when you're taking on an NFL division leader.
With the Arizona Cardinals—leaders of the NFC West—coming to town, the Silver & Black want to be as healthy as possible in order to get that first elusive win of the 2014 season. But they have nine players on the injured list, including five who did not participate in Thursday practices.
The 0-5 Raiders are looking at a Sunday match-up with the Cardinals minus some key players on both sides of the ball: running back Marcel Reece, offensive tackle Khalif Barnes and defensive end Justin Tuck.
All three are listed as questionable. Reece injured his quadriceps and didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday. With the team's running game finally finding some traction last week against San Diego, it would be a shame to lose Reece's veteran presence for this game. Barnes missed the Chargers game with a quad injury, but Menelik Watson filled in for him nicely. That might happen again as Barnes hasn't practiced this week.
Tuck still has just one sack on the season, but there's always the hope he can re-discover some of his past quality play—but only if he is on the field, of course. His knee injury kept him off the field for Wednesday and Thursday practices.
Other questionable players for Week 7 include wide receiver Vincent Brown, who was inactive for the San Diego game. He caught three passes against the Miami Dolphins in Week Four, but otherwise, he hasn't seen the field much. Brown has missed practices this week with a hamstring injury; he was unlikely to play anyway—especially with the addition of former New England Patriot Kenbrell Thompkins this week.
Defensive back Keith McGill has a groin injury and has missed practice this week. He didn't take the field versus the Chargers last week, either.
Now, on to the good news for Oakland!
Quarterback Derek Carr is listed as probable with those ankle and knee injuries suffered in London. He obviously played pretty well last week, so it's good to see he will be ready for the Cardinals this week. Carr was a full participant in practice this week.
Linebacker Sio Moore also didn't miss any significant practice time this week with his lingering ankle issue; while he took some plays off in Wednesday's workouts, he was 100% in Thursday's activities. This is great news for the Raiders defense, of course.
Safety Usama Young—who has 13 tackles in the last two games after taking over for the injured Tyvon Branch—also missed a little time on Wednesday, but he was a full participant on Thursday and looks good to go on Sunday.
Finally, defensive end Benson Mayowa has made just one tackle in five games, but a knee injury kept him off the practice field on Wednesday. He was a full participant on Thursday and is probable for Sunday's game.
Probable:
- Linebacker Sio Moore (ankle)
- Safety Usama Young (foot)
Questionable:
- Offensive tackle Khalif Barnes (quad)
- Wide receiver Vincent Brown (hamstring)
- Cornerback Keith McGill (knee)
- Running back Marcel Reece (quad)
- Defensive end Justin Tuck (knee)
For more Raiders news and updates, visit Raiders Central.
Sam McPherson is a freelance writer covering all things Oakland A's. His work can be found on a Examiner.com.
