Raiders second year quarterback Derek Carr has not practiced with his teammates the past week for their offseason workouts and is out of their OTA's this week as well. Initially his injury was unknown as well as the severity and head coach Jack Del Rio is not required to disclose such information so he wasn't.
For that information, we must rely on sources and reports. Those reports say Carr has a finger injury, though the severity of that injury is not agreed upon.
While Jason La Canfora was told Carr's injury is "very, very minor", ESPN's Chris Mortensen said he was told the injury will require surgery.
I'm told the medical issue holding Derek Carr back from participating in OTA w/Raiders is very, very minor. Nothing to worry about
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) May 19, 2015
Raiders QB Derek Carr has right ring finger injury that may require surgery. OTAs in question but optimistic about training camp, per source
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) May 19, 2015
Optimism is always nice, but I wouldn't go thinking there's nothing to worry about either way with these reports. The last time we heard of the team being optimistic about a player's chances of being available for training camp was D.J. Hayden and his broken foot which he suffered at this time last year and kept him out all of training camp and placed on the PUP list to start the season.
This may be 'just' a finger, but it is on his throwing hand and if it does indeed end up requiring surgery, there could be a bit of a recovery time as well as a rehab period.
As Del Rio said Tuesday "Time missed in May is better than time missed in September, for sure. In fact, you're often more capable of taking whatever time is necessary just to make sure you put things behind you. It's a little more cautious this time of year."
I wouldn't be surprised if the Raiders held him out for the rest of the offseason just as a precaution, regardless. It would be nice to have him, but not worth risking further injury. Best to target a return for training camp and hope he is ready well ahead of time so he can get back to work with no issues.
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