The Las Vegas Raiders lost running back Ashton Jeanty today with what appeared to be a serious leg injury.
The Las Vegas Raiders have had fairly good injury luck in training camp so far, but that changed dramatically today as running back Ashton Jeanty left practice with what appeared to be a serious leg injury, according to a report from Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk and multiple other outlets.
The injury occurred on a pass from quarterback Kirk Cousins, as Jeanty dove for the ball and went down awkwardly, per Simmons. He was helped off the field by trainers as he was unable to put any weight on his leg as he left.
Another sign that the injury was serious occurred when the Raiders took a knee for a moment of silence as a team after Jeanty left.
The injury was especially ironic given Jeanty’s status as an iron man during his rookie year after he was taken with the No. 6 pick in the draft, as he played in all 17 games and finished with 1,321 yards from scrimmage, with 975 of those yards rushing to go with, 346 receiving on 55 catches. Jeanty also scored ten touchdowns.
He’s been seen as a major offensive contributor this season, with coach Klint Kubiak talking frequently about how he wants to get more from Jeanty while increasing his workload. Jeanty sat out the Raiders’ 22-20 win over the Houston Texans last week, but he did make a token appearance in the team’s preseason opener as he rushed three times for 16 yards.
The impact of the injury is increased by the Raiders’ lack of depth at running back, as they’ve been actively working out multiple free agents for the last few weeks.
The Raiders do have rookie Mike Washington Jr. as their top option, as Washington had 63 rushing yards on six carries against the Cardinals and 56 more yards on nine carries against the Houston Texans. Washington has shown some big-play ability with a 53-yard run against Arizona and another for 33 against Houston.
But Washington is a rookie, and he also has an injury history coming out of college as he’s had some knee problems. The other options at the moment are second-year running back Dylan Laube and rookie Roman Hemby out of Indiana, and the Raiders signed Dare Ogunbowale, but he’s mostly esxpected to be a special teams player.
The Raiders will now anxiously await word on teh seriousness of Jeanty’s injury, but this is a big loss if he misses any amount of time at all. Las Vegas will also pick up the pace in working out running backs, and they’ll also doubtless be evaluating roster cuts for other teams at the position.
