Raiders to decide in next couple days if Donald Penn will return or head to injured reserve

Donald Penn returned to practice a couple weeks ago and could be nearing a return for the Oakland Raiders. Just in time to save Derek Carr’s body from further punishment.

On October 3, Penn was Designated for injury reserve but eligible for return with a groin injury. Once eight weeks had passed the Raiders made the decision to take him off of IR and have had three weeks to activate him per head coach Jon Gruden.

“There is a chance that he could be up this week,” Gruden said of Penn. “We’ll address that here in the next couple of days. There’s a clock when you get a guy off the injured reserve. You get a couple of weeks to look at him. Our clock is about to expire. We’ll talk to [Head Athletic Trainer] Rod Martin and we’ll talk to Donald. We’ll put our heads together and determine that here in the next 48 hours.”

Penn has worked himself back into shape, rehabbing his groin and wants to play. With a dire need for better play at both tackle positions, Gruden could use Penn right about now.

The two rookie tackles Kolton Miller and Brandon Parker have had rookie campaigns with a lot of ups and downs. With both starting guards injured and possibly not coming back, the line is in shambles. Penn could add some stability which would certainly help Derek Carr feel more comfortable over the final two weeks of the season.