When the Las Vegas Raiders released their Friday injury report, Germaine Pratt’s name was nowhere to be seen. However, he was a late addition to the report.
The Raiders have now ruled out the linebacker for Week 5 against the Indianapolis Colts. He was given a “non-injury related” designation and will not travel to the team in Indianapolis.
Considering Pratt has started all four games for the Raiders this season, this is a significant blow. The team has yet to give a reason why he isn’t traveling with them, which has led speculation to stir.
It’s difficult to know for sure why he could be out without the Raiders giving a specific reason. Regardless, it has to be a serious off-the-field situation for him to miss an important game. It’s difficult to speculate in situations like these. Pratt joined the Raiders this offseason after a long career with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Jamal Adams will likely take over Pratt’s position in the defense for now, but it remains to be seen when the veteran could return to the team. Head coach Pete Carroll will be able to provide some insight as to why he was out following Sunday’s game against the Colts.
3 Key Raiders Questionable
In addition to Pratt being out, the Raiders listed tight ends Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer as questionable, as well as cornerback Eric Stokes. All three of those players are very important to the team.
Bowers is an All-Pro, but hasn’t been the same since hurting his knee in Week 1. Carroll said that the plan is for him to play against the Colts and that he only sat out of practice on Thursday and Friday for rest reasons.
Mayer missed last game due to a concussion and has been limited in practice all week. Carroll said that it’s out of his hands, as Mayer has to pass the NFL’s concussion protocols to be able to play, but he’s headed in the right direction.
Stokes hurt his knee against the Bears in Week 4, which forced him out of the game early. He’s also been limited in practice all week, which means there’s a chance he could play. Stokes has been excellent for the Raiders this year, so they’ll miss him greatly if he can’t play.
Is Week 5 A Must-Win for Raiders?
This would be a bad week for the Raiders to be missing so many key players. At 1-3, they have to turn things around quickly, or they’ll be out of the playoff race before they ever really got in.
The Colts are a really good team right now at 3-1. Winning this game on the road would show that the Raiders aren’t out of the mix yet. Plus, they play the Tennessee Titans in Week 6, which might be the worst team in the NFL right now.
They could be 3-3 heading into a big matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7, which could have serious AFC West implications. It’s probably still too early in the season for this Colts game to be considered a must-win, but it’s close.
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