The Oakland Raiders came away with a timely victory against their AFC West rivals in the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16 to keep their postseason hopes alive. Although their 24-17 win was a nice change of pace, in familiar fashion, the Raiders also got some bad news.
During the Chargers’ final drive, rookie cornerback Trayvon Mullen was injured. Mullen appeared to be hit in the head and neck area by teammate Curtis Riley, who himself was filling in for the injured Lamarcus Joyner.
It took several minutes to get Mullen carted off the field, and it appears that he is dealing with a neck injury although head coach Jon Gruden reported after the game that he is doing OK, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic:
Trayvon Mullen is at the hospital, getting his neck checked out. Gruden said initial signs are good.
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) December 23, 2019
It appears that Mullen’s stay in the hospital was not long as he was able to get on the team plane to fly home on Sunday night and then took to social media to report that he is feeling better, via Scott Bair of NBC Sports:
Trayvon Mullen is back with the Raiders and will fly home on the team charter.
— Scott Bair (@BairNBCS) December 23, 2019
From Trayvon Mullen’s Instagram Stories: pic.twitter.com/4yaOzI9WHr
— Scott Bair (@BairNBCS) December 23, 2019
While it is obvious good news that Mullen avoided serious injury, him going down could not have come at a worse time. The Raiders were short Josh Jacobs and Richie Incognito in their victory as well. In addition to that, Pro Bowl right tackle Trent Brown was also placed on the injured reserve list last week, marking an end to his season.
All of these injuries come as the Raiders are on the cusp of making the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 NFL season. The Raiders need a number of things to go their way to make it in, but it does make their Week 17 game more meaningful.
Of course, should the Raiders make the playoffs, there is no telling how healthy they will actually be. Mullen has been one of many impressive rookies in the Raiders starting lineup, so if he is forced to miss time then that would be a big blow to the defense. Mullen has totaled 37 solo tackles this year, seventh-best amongst the team and a leader for Raiders rookies.
Given the amount of time Mullen spent on the turf, it would be surprising to see him back on the field by next weekend, although considering he avoided serious injury, anything is possible.
