The Oakland Raiders announced ahead of their Week 16 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers that they have placed linebacker Marquel Lee on injured reserve and promoted offensive lineman Lester Cotton Sr. from the practice squad.
Cotton went undrafted out of Alabama before signing onto the Raiders’ practice squad at the beginning of the season. He was promoted for the team’s Week 5 game against the Chicago Bears but was then waived just a couple of days later, eventually ending up back on the practice squad.
With Trent Brown being placed on IR and Richie Incognito also set to miss the Week 16 game due to injury, the Raiders are in dire need of offensive line depth.
This marks Lee’s second sting on IR this season after previously missing nine games with an ankle injury. He has appeared in five games in 2019, starting two of them and recording five tackles.
The Raiders added a linebacker to their roster earlier this week by signing Ukeme Eligwe, so it now makes sense why they decided to make that move.
With just two games remaining in the season, the Raiders are limping to the finish line after losing four straight games and a number of key players going down with injuries. Oakland has not been eliminated from postseason contention, but they must win out to have any hope of making it.
