Oakland Raiders Week 15 Injury Report: Raiders Down Another Injured Defensive Starter Against Cowboys
By Shawn Lealos
The Oakland Raiders suffered a huge setback last week when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. With a chance to control their own destiny, the Raiders suddenly fell behind one of their own division rivals and have to win out and hope for help if they want to make the postseason this year. This week, their first task is to try to beat the Dallas Cowboys, but they continue to play with a depleted defense and just lost another player to injury on that side of the ball.
Mario Edwards Joins Raiders Injured Defensive Stars
Already down most of their cornerbacks, with one injured, one released after an injury and another on injured reserve, the Raiders have now lost one of their top defensive linemen and pass rushers. Mario Edwards is one of four Raiders listed as out for their game this weekend against the Dallas Cowboys.
Edwards injured his ankle in the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and while he played almost the entire game, he missed practice most of the week. As a result, Edwards will sit this week and the Raiders will go with Jihad Ward as his replacement. Denico Autry is also a possibility to see additional reps if he plays but the Raiders listed him as questionable with a hand injury.
Amari Cooper Out For Cowboys Game
Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper returned to the field last week after missing one game following a concussion. However, in the first half of the loss to the Chiefs, Cooper fell to an ankle injury. This was an ankle that has bothered Cooper for a while and the Raiders announced that he will not play this weekend against Dallas.
According to the Raiders, Cooper was slowed by the injury and then hurt it worse in the second quarter against Kansas City. Michael Crabtree will start at his side while Cordarrelle Patterson, Johnny Holton and Seth Roberts will get more attention. The good news is that Patterson and tight end Jared Cook were both removed from the Raiders' injury report.
Defensive Backfield Takes Another Hit
Cornerback David Amerson will likely miss another game, listed as doubtful heading into the Cowboys game. Amerson has only played six games this season and has not taken the field since the Oct. 19 game with the Kansas City Chiefs. While they have yet to move him to the IR, Oakland has lost promising rookie safety Obi Melifonwu. The Raiders hoped that the arrival of Melifonwu would help negate some of the problems in the secondary due to injuries. Melifonwu was on the IR for the first eight games of the season and returned about the time the Raiders made moves with their cornerbacks. However, his injuries were not healed and the Raiders opted to end his season now. Melifonwu had surgery and was placed on the IR again.
Oakland Raiders Injury Report
- Questionable
- Denico Autry (DL), hand/ankle - full practice
- Jon Feliciano (G/C), concussion - limited practice
- Keith McGill (DB), knee - limited practice
Doubtful
- David Amerson (CB), foot - did not participate
Out
- Amari Cooper (WR), ankle - did not participate
- Mario Edwards Jr. (DL), ankle - did not participate
- Obi Melifonwu (S), hip - did not participate
- Clive Walford (TE), concussion/neck - did not participate
