The Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns was the low point of the season for the Las Vegas Raiders, but things could’ve been worse. Late in the game, rookie running back Ashton Jeanty had a bit of an injury scare with his ankle.
It hasn’t been the magical rookie season that he was hoping for, but the Raiders’ run game can’t afford to lose him. Luckily, it appears that he didn’t suffer a serious injury. Head coach Pete Carroll revealed on Monday that the ankle injury isn’t considered severe.
“I haven’t heard that it would yet. It sounds like there’s a chance that he’ll be ok,” Carroll told reporters.
Jeanty hasn’t been carrying as heavy a workload as many expected, but he’s been very durable this season. The Raiders want to get him more involved, but it’s difficult with how bad the offensive line has been. The team also has virtually no passing attack, so it’s easier for teams to stack the box, which makes it even harder for Jeanty. That said, if he can stay healthy, there’s no reason to believe he won’t be an impact player once the Raiders figure out their offensive line.
Will Jeanty Have More Success With OC Change?
In addition to the offensive line struggles, the playcalling wasn’t doing Jeanty any favors. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly was having issues adjusting to the NFL game after years in college.
The Raiders made the decision to fire the coach.
“I thought it was too painful where we were, and the play has not been good enough,” Carroll said. “And I’m really surprised as well that this has happened, but I think our players deserve it, and our fans deserve that we give them our best shot, and that’s what competing is all about. And so, it falls in line philosophically. It’s just a very difficult time to have to do this. And unfortunately, this would not have happened, but we’re 2-9.”
The good news for Jeanty is that things can’t get any worse. Now that Greg Olson is the offensive coordinator, there could be more of an emphasis on the run game. The Raiders would feel a lot better about using a top-10 pick on a running back if Jeanty has a good end to the season.
Carroll Addresses Offensive Line
Olson’s biggest job is to figure out how to salvage the offensive line. With Kolton Miller and Jackson Powers-Johnson hurt, there’s only so much he can do.
However, he can work with the scheme to try to hide some of the talent deficiencies. It won’t be easy, but the Raiders don’t have a choice. Carroll spoke about how the offensive line can improve the rest of the way.
“The effort moving forward is to minimize the exposure, and that calls on the rest of your game,” Carroll said. “If you take a look at how we’ve protected on our play passes, it’s a big difference between how we’re protecting in the drop back game. Hopefully we can clean that up and make that mix better and be more efficient.”
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