The Oakland Raiders have been able to overcome a slew of injuries to their secondary to take control of their playoff destiny heading into the final stretch of the 2019 NFL season.
Among the notable injuries as of late is safety Lamarcus Joyner as he continues to nurse a hamstring issue. He missed in Week 11 game against the Cincinnati Bengals and had not been able to practice all week before getting some limited participation going into the weekend.
The Raiders have managed to get a winning streak going ahead of their road trip to take on the New York Jets in Week 12. It seems they are holding out hope that they will be at full strength on both sides of the ball.
Head coach Jon Gruden currently has Joyner pegged as questionable while tackle David Sharpe is ruled out against the Jets, via Scott Bair of NBC Sports:
Lamarcus Joyner is formally questionable to play vs. the Jets. He'll travel to NY with the team, but Jon Gruden said he's not sure if he'll play
David Sharpe was ruled out with a calf injury. Trent Brown was not given a designation and will play Sunday.
— Scott Bair (@BairNBCS) November 22, 2019
Joyner has struggled to live up to the lucrative four-year, $42 million deal he signed this offseason. Regardless, he has taken on an integral role in the defense and the last thing Oakland needs at this point is any more missing pieces to their secondary.
It is no secret that this group has taken some crushing blows throughout the course of the year with season-ending injuries to safeties Johnathan Abram and Karl Joseph. Fortunately, the Raiders have had the luxury of being able to rely on their depth over the top as well as a new addition of D.J. Swearinger.
Although Joyner was absent during the 17-10 win over the Bengals, Swearinger managed to come in on short notice and play a major role. He should be much more familiar with the defensive scheme now that he is in his second week.
Meanwhile, the absence of Sharpe should not be too much of a concern unless tackles Trent Brown and Kolton Miller were to go down with an injury. Of course, this would quite the dilemma when it comes to trying to shore up the protection upfront in the event that Brown or Miller were unable to play for any reason.
Oakland will need to take care of business in New York if they want next week’s AFC West showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs to have first-place implications.
