With all the excitement that came with the Oakland Raiders actually taking to the practice field, I almost forgot about the worries that came with: i.e. injuries. When I heard the news that Jacoby Ford had broken his hand I remembered. Hue Jackson alerted the press of this bummer news on Sunday. The injury occurred at Saturday's practice and Ford was spotted with ice on his hand at the end of that practice.
Jackson estimated that he would be out a couple of weeks. We'll have to take him at his word on this as a broken hand can mean numerous things that come with numerously different recovery time tables. I take the fact that Ford was just icing his hand after the injury as a good sign. It also should be taken as a good sign that he does not appear headed for surgery.
If the injury was going to happen, this is certainly the right time. Assuming Ford is out two weeks that will still give him around a month to prepare for the opener. Ford's rookie season got off to a slow start last year as he strained his quad near the end of the preseason. That was not good timing.
This injury should be just a minor speed bump for the Raiders and Ford. And that is a damn good thing. Ford promises to be a huge part of the Raiders passing attack, and likely kick returns. This injury will give Taiwan Jones, Demarcus Van Dyke and Nick Miller an opportunity to prove their worth in kick returns.