Gerald McCoy out for season, Raiders worry about other injured players

UPDATE: 9/15 7:40 am PT

Ian Rapoport has reported that Gerald McCoy suffered a season-ending injury on Monday night vs. the Ravens, and that Damion Square will replace him on the roster. That means another veteran is down for the Raiders.

During his Tuesday press briefing after the Las Vegas Raiders’ thrilling 33-27 home overtime win over the Baltimore Ravens on Monday, coach Jon Gruden told reporters that he was worried that some key players could be facing long-term injury issues.

Gruden said defensive end Yannick Ngakoue (hamstring), defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (knee), left guard Denzelle Good (knee) and backup quarterback Marcus Mariota (strained calf) were all potentially facing long injury issues. He said all four players were being examined Tuesday afternoon. Thus, Gruden said he had no definitive answers on any of the players.

Yet, shortly after Gruden spoke, ESPN reported that Good tore his ACL on Monday night and he will be out for the season.

Good left the game in the first quarter. He returned briefly in the second quarter, but then departed the game again. Gruden did praise the play of his replacement, Jermaine Eluemunor, saying he was “unbelievable” in Good’s place. Eluemunor was been with the Raiders for just two weeks.

There is a chance that left guard Richie Incognito, who has been out for nearly four weeks, can return this week. If that’s the case, second-year player John Simpson would likely replace Good, who has one more season remaining on his contract, on a full-time basis. He was supposed to challenge Good, but it never developed. Now, it appears, it is Simpson’s time. I’m hearing the Raiders are looking to add depth on the line as well.

At one point in his presser on Tuesday, Gruden said the team will miss McCoy’s leadership. He was taken off the field on a cart. McCoy, 33, was signed last month to provide key depth at defensive tackle. He missed all of last season with a leg injury.

Here is another sign the McCoy injury is significant. The are reportedly signing defensive tackle Damion Square off the Chicago Bears’ practice squad. Square, 32, was with the Chargers and Raiders’ defensive coordinator Gus Bradley the past four seasons. He started one game last year.

Ngakoue finished the game Monday night on the sideline and it didn’t look like he was ever close to coming back into the game. Ngakoue, the team’s free-agent prize, played well Monday before the injury.

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Mariota re-injured a training-camp injury on a 31-yard run on the first drive. Gruden said Mariota would have been part of the offensive package throughout the game had he not been hurt,.

Gruden also said third-year defensive end Clelin Ferrell may be active this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Gruden did say Ferrell had a back injury, but he was not on the final injury report in Week 1. If Ngakoue is out, Ferrell will very likely be back in the mix.