The Las Vegas Raiders‘ offensive line has struggled all season, and a big reason for that is that they lost their best player in Week 4. Starting left tackle Kolton Miller is the longest tenured player on the team, and easily their best offensive lineman.
Unfortunately, he hurt his ankle at the end of the Week 4 matchup with the Chicago Bears. He suffered a hairline fracture, and it looked like his season could be over. However, head coach Pete Carroll has maintained that Miller could still return this year.
The Raiders are 2-11 and eliminated from the playoffs, so it would stand to reason that the team would not risk Miller getting hurt further. It doesn’t look like Las Vegas will follow that line of reasoning.
The Raiders announced that Miller has returned to practice, which will open up his 21-day window to return to the active roster.
At the end of the 21-day window, the Raiders will have to decide whether or not to end Miller’s season or place him on the active roster. It doesn’t hurt to have him practice the rest of the season so he can continue to build chemistry with the other offensive linemen, but it’s unclear if there are real plans to have him play again.
Raiders Injury Report
With the Raiders simply playing for pride at this point in the season, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they took a more cautious approach with injured veterans. They play a physical Philadelphia Eagles team in Week 15 that is desperate for a win. Based on the injury report, the Raiders are very banged up heading into the matchup.
Jamal Adams, Jeremy Chinn, Maxx Crosby, Geno Smith and Ian Thomas didn’t participate in Wednesday’s practice due to injury. Miller was limited, but it’s unlikely the Raiders are even thinking of bringing him back this week.
Michael Mayer and Dont’e Thornton were back at practice, which is a good sign, but they were both limited. Crosby also didn’t practice last week, but ended up playing, so it’s likely that he’ll play against the Eagles unless the team says otherwise.
Ashton Jeanty Still Hoping to Breakthrough
Despite having a strong defensive line, the Eagles have struggled against the run this season. They are allowing 132 yards on the ground per game.
Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty has been desperate for a good game. The Raiders have the worst rushing offense in the NFL for the second year in a row. Jeanty is frustrated, but he’s hoping the rushing offense can break out soon.
“Yeah, super frustrating, but at the end of the day, you just got to look back on those things,” Jeanty told reporters Wednesday. “A lot of times with football, it seems so small, but it’s big in the grand scheme of things because each and every single play adds up through the course of the game. So, we just got to continue to find ways to clean up our play and execute better when it matters the most.”
Jeanty is a very talented player, but the Raiders need the offensive line to step up if he’s going to put up numbers.
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