The Oakland Raiders are looking to turn the page with a road trip to Southern California to take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16.
The Raiders are dealing with a laundry list of injuries with two games left in the 2019 NFL season. Of course, their biggest one came after they opted to place right tackle Trent Brown on injured reserve this earlier this week due to a pectoral injury.
Unfortunately, he is not the only key member of the offensive line that will be unavailable in Los Angeles. Left guard Richie Incognito is also dealing with an ankle injury that has left his status in question all week.
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden says Incognito will unfortunately not be able to play against the Chargers, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic:
Gruden says Incognito is officially out Sunday, as well as Jacobs. #Raiders https://t.co/4UfLoCrNVU
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) December 20, 2019
Incognito’s designation is hardly surprising considering he had been unable to log in any practice time throughout the week. As a result, Oakland’s offensive line will be severely shorthanded without two of their starters.
This group has certainly dealt with their fair share of injuries throughout the 2019 campaign and it is clear that the grind has taken quite a toll. Aside from Brown and Incognito, right guard Gabe Jackson was also a limited participant in practice with a knee, however, he will be good go versus the Chargers.
Backup guard Denzelle Good is slated to take over in place of the injured Incognito while backup tackles David Sharpe and Brandon Parker will fill in for Brown the rest of the way. Running back Josh Jacobs has also been ruled out as he continues to nurse a lingering shoulder injury.
Oakland is not playing for much at this point in the year with their playoff hopes dashed so it should come as no surprise to see that they are seemingly taking a cautious approach with the integral players own their roster. The onus will ultimately fall on quarterback Derek Carr once again make do with the supporting cast at his disposal.
Although this will be much easier said than done, the Raiders appear to be adamant about trying to end the season on a high note following their debacle in the home finale at the Coliseum, and who knows, maybe some things go their way and they end up squeaking out the six-seed in the AFC.
