Report: Running back Jalen Richard is out with foot injury

It’s been a rough training camp for Las Vegas Raiders backup running back Jalen Richard.

The Athletic reported on Thursday morning that the sixth-year tailback has a foot injury and is out indefinitely. While there aren’t many details yet, “indefinitely” is always a tricky and scary word when it comes to injury timelines.

If it is serious, Richard could be a candidate to go on the injured reserve. We will see what Raiders’ coach Jon Gruden has to say about Richard’s status when he next talks to the media on Saturday.

Richard returned to practice on Tuesday after missing the start of training camp while on the COVID-19 list. Now, he is dealing with this injury setback.

UPDATE: The Las Vegas Review Journal reported Richard could be out a couple of weeks.

There has been speculation that Richard could have trouble making the 53-man roster, especially if he isn’t vaccinated, which he indicated he wasn’t in a tweet from his now-deleted Twitter account. It has been speculated around the NFL that teams may choose to keep a vaccinated player over an unvaccinated player for competitive reasons.

Theo Riddick retired last week and with Richard now out, the Raiders have four running backs in training camp: Starter Josh Jacobs, top backup Kenyan Drake, B.J. Emmons and undrafted rookie Trey Ragas. It wouldn’t be a shock of the Raiders add another running back on the 90-man rosters on if Richards’ injury is serious.

This is also a real opportunity for Ragas to make an impression and push for a spot on the 53-man roster.