Raiders injury news: Darren Waller not at practice Wednesday

It’s not a surprise, but the Las Vegas Raiders opened their practice week in preparation of Sunday’s Week 13 home game against the Washington Football Team without their top offensive weapon, star tight end Darren Waller.

Waller hurt his knee last Thursday in a Raiders’ win at the Dallas Cowboys. Friday, NFL Media reported Waller didn’t suffer a serious injury, just a strained IT band in his knee. Monday, Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia said Waller was “week-to-week.” However, Bisaccia did not discount the chances of Waller facing Washington.

While he could always improve, the fact that Waller missed Wednesday’s practice is not a great sign for his chances this week. If he can’t play, backup Foster Moreau will start against Washington.

Backup defensive end Carl Nassib is also week-to-week with a knee injury and long snapper Trent Sieg is on the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list. Their status for Sunday is up in the air. Nassib didn’t practice Wednesday, putting his chances of playing Sunday in jeopardy,

UPDATE: The Raiders signed long snapper Carson Tinker on Wednesday in case Sieg can’t play Sunday. The veteran was cut by Tampa Bay last week. He has played in 77 NFL games.

Meanwhile, backups, linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski and cornerback Keisean Nixon, returned to work Wednesday after missing several weeks with ankle injuries. They should be available Sunday. Also, Bisaccia said starting cornerback Trayvon Mullen is close to returning from the injured reserve, but it didn’t happen Wednesday. He’s been out since Week 4 with a toe ailment.