The Oakland Raiders suffered another blow at quarterback on Sunday against the Denver Broncos, as just a week after losing Derek Carr to a broken fibula backup Matt McGloin left the game with a shoulder injury.
He did not return to the game, leaving rookie Connor Cook, who had never taken an NFL snap, the only healthy quarterback on the roster.
Cook finished out the game and although the Raiders lost 24-6, Cook showed some promise particularly in one drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Amari Cooper, the first of Cook’s pro career.
After the game head coach Jack Del Rio commented on the play of Cook, and what McGloin’s current status is as the Raiders prepare for their first postseason game on Saturday against the Houston Texans, via Raiders.com:
“He has a shoulder injury. He couldn’t come back so [QB] Connor [Cook] went in. I thought there were some positives with Connor’s possession. There were some mistakes with the ball security, but I thought Cook did a pretty good job for being thrown in there. I don’t have a sense of McGloin’s availability for next week. At this point I don’t have an answer for that. We’ll be back and regroup tomorrow, and look at everybody and see where they are and make a determination from then. It’s his left shoulder.”
After the game McGloin said he is confident that he will be able to play next week:
“That’s my mindset right now. I want to play, I wanted to play out there tonight but its what’s best for the team. If I’m not 100 percent healthy then that’s not what this team needs, but I plan on being 100 percent healthy. I’ll do everything I can in the training room and the weight room this week to try to get myself back to 100 percent.”
Before going out with the injury McGloin completed 6-of-11 passes for 21 yards. Cook had a little more success throwing the ball down the field, as he completed 14-of-21 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, but he had both an interception and a lost fumble in the game.
Regardless of which quarterback is under center against the Texans, the Raiders will need to get their run game going early if hey want to have success, something they were not able to do against Denver.
