Raiders’ Running Back Josh Jacobs Faces Uncertainty Against Chargers Due to Quad Injury
The Las Vegas Raiders could be facing Thursday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers without the presence of Josh Jacobs.
During an appearance on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, Ian Rapoport indicated that Jacobs’ availability is “very much in doubt” due to a quad injury sustained in the Week 14 defeat against the Minnesota Vikings.
Josh Jacobs’ chances of playing in tonight’s game seemed unlikely throughout the week leading up to the matchup. He was absent from practices held on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
Attempting to participate with a quad injury, especially on a short week, poses a considerable risk. Initially, interim head coach Antonio Pierce had informed reporters after the Minnesota loss that Jacobs had sustained a knee injury, creating some initial confusion about the nature of the ailment.
“Tough guy,” remarked Pierce about his star running back. “I mean, we’ll have them look and go with our medical staff on that, but he tried to fight as best he can. He wasn’t able to finish. We’ll look into that tomorrow.”
Jacobs sustained the injury in the fourth quarter and headed to the locker room for examination. Despite the setback, he managed to complete the game with 34 rushing yards on 13 carries, marking his second-lowest output of the season after a Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills where he had negative two yards.
Both teams are entering Thursday’s game with depleted rosters due to injuries. The Chargers will be missing Justin Herbert, who underwent surgery to repair a broken finger on Tuesday, and Keenan Allen is out with a hip injury.
Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby are questionable for the Raiders. Adams was added to the injury report on Wednesday due to an illness, while Crosby has been managing a knee injury for multiple weeks, yet he has played in all 13 games thus far this season.
In the event Jacobs is unable to play on Thursday night, the Raiders will likely turn to Zamir White as their starting running back, with Ameer Abdullah potentially seeing increased playing time.