The Oakland Raiders have not performed like the preseason Super Bowl pick that most pegged them to be as they have dropped their last two games. They head home to Oakland for a Week 5 tilt against the Baltimore Ravens and will need to figure out ways to score if they hope to win against a vaunted Ravens defense.
Derek Carr was ruled out for the next two to six weeks after injuring his back in Week 4 against the Denver Broncos and was thought to be ruled out against Baltimore. However, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, it appears the signal caller could actually play in Week 5 as transcribed by Kevin Patra of NFL:
At this point it is looking very good chance for him to be back next week,” Rapoport said. “[It’s been] described to me as a chance to play this week. I know he wants to play very badly.”
This is a surprising development given his original timeline to return. While the Raiders will likely hold Carr out in order to let him heal, it is encouraging to see that his injury is not as serious as it could have been.
EJ Manuel is slated to start for the silver and black but will have his work cut out for him trying to pass against one of the best secondaries in the league. This game is the perfect opportunity for Oakland to bounce back and it will be interesting to see how they respond.
