The Las Vegas Raiders will be short an offensive lineman after an injury to Jackson Powers-Johnson.
The Las Vegas Raiders are preparing for joint practices against the Houston Texans today, but they’ll have to fill in for guard Jackson Powers-Johnson, who left practice early yesterday with an apparent injury, according to Ryan McFadden of ESPN and multiple other outlets.
Powers-Johnson sustained the injury during the team’s red zone drill while working with the second team offense. He got up immediately, per McFadden, then walked to the sideline, and he was seen with a trainer heading back inside the team faciliity after that.
The guard has been competing with second-year lineman Caleb Rogers for the starting right guard spot, with both players alternating reps with the starting offense. Rogers stepped in with the starters full-time after Powers-Johnson left.
Powers-Johnson has been dealing with injuries throughout his first two seasons, according to Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk, although he has started 21 of 23 games. He was a second-round pick back in 2024, and he appeared in eight games last season, starting in seven of them.
Coach Klint Kubiak didn’t address the media after yesterday’s practice, so the nature of the injury remains undisclosed at this point. Kubiak is scheduled to address the media after today’s joint practice session with the Houston Texans in advance of their preseason game on Thursday in Houston, which is where the joint practices are being held.
Meanwhile, receiver Malik Benson continues to stand out as one of the best players in camp, according to multiple reports. He’s established a connection with quarterback Fernando Mendoza, and Benson has been getting reps with the first-team offense as well.
“Time on task helps everybody get better,” Kubiak said last week about Benson’s sudden rise up the receiver ranks. “Malik has jumped in there with the ones at times, he’s earned those reps, but he’s got to stay humble and stay hungry.”
Benson established his connection with Mendoza back when they met at the scouting combine in February. That was two months before they became teammates, but the extra work is paying off, according to the sixth-round draft pick out of Oregon.
"I know, when it comes to Sundays, when it comes to practice, he's going to rely on me to be in that spot, and I'm going to rely on him to place the ball where it needs to be placed," Benson said.
Expect Mendoza to be closely watched this week, as he’s expected to get reps against Houston’s fierce first-team defense.
