One day after losing three players, the Las Vegas Raiders have just one player labelled as doubtful on the injury report, but he is in a critical position.
Denzel Perryman, the starting linebacker, is doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts at allegiant Stadium. The game begins at 1:05 p.m. Perryman is suffering from hip and rib issues. He didn’t practise on Wednesday, but he did work out on Thursday and Friday.
The Raiders will need Perryman because they have some problems at linebacker with the unexpected retirement of Blake Martinez on Thursday. He took Divine Deablo’s starting spot when the second-year pro was placed on injured reserve with a forearm injury. Jayon Brown, who was a healthy scratch last week, undrafted rookies Luke Masterson and Darien Butler, as well as freshly promoted Curtis Bolton, are all in the running.
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Linebacker Blake Martinez has announced his retirement.
Of course, in addition to Martinez, the Raiders placed offensive weapons tight end Darren Waller and slot receiver Hunter Renfrow on injured reserve on Thursday. Both will miss at least four games.
In the meanwhile, Raiders coach Josh McDaniels confirmed that defensive end Tashawn Bower will play on Sunday. The Raiders require a burst of pass rush. They have nine sacks in eight games, which is a league low. Perhaps Bower will fill in for Chandler Jones. With only a half-sack this season, the big-money free agent has been a flop. Bower has only participated in two games this season and hasn’t played since Week 3.
Interim coach Jeff Saturday said that outstanding linebacker Shaq Leonard is out with back and ankle problems for the Colts. The Colts, on the other hand, should have star running back Johnathan Taylor ready on Sunday. He missed last week’s game due to an ankle issue that has bothered him for the whole of the season.
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