After back-to-back disappointing losses, the Oakland Raiders now find themselves at 6-6 and needing a win against the Tennessee Titans in Week 14 to stay in the AFC postseason picture.
Oakland will unfortunately be short-handed in the matchup as star right tackle Trent Brown has already been ruled out due to a pectoral injury.
It appears he will not be the only key player that the Raiders will be without as rookie running back Josh Jacobs has been dealing with a shoulder injury the last handful of weeks. He took to Instagram earlier this week to reveal that he has a fracture in his shoulder, and head coach Jon Gruden commended him for his toughness.
While Jacobs held out hope that he would be able to suit up and play against the Titans, he tested it out pregame and the results were not great. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network is reporting that Jacobs will miss his first career game:
Source: #Raiders RB Josh Jacobs (shoulder) is not able to play today. He’s slated to be inactive. A big challenge for Oakland. He has an MRI scheduled for this week.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 8, 2019
This is obviously not great news for the Raiders as they will be without their best offensive player in perhaps their most important game of the season.
Jacobs became the first Raiders rookie to reach the 1,000-yard rushing milestone in the team’s Week 13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He has 218 carries for 1,061 yards and seven touchdowns on the year, also adding 18 receptions for 146 yards.
With Jacobs out, Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington are expected to split duties at running back against the Titans, which could make for a big passing day for Derek Carr.
