Raiders Injury News: Gruden says Carr, Leatherwood, Jacobs questionable for Dolphins

It’s almost like Las Vegas Raiders fans can’t enjoy a victory this season. For the second week in a row, the Raiders beat a playoff team from last season, and for the second week in a row, they’ve suffered injuries to a few key players.

Quarterback Derek Carr went down with an ankle and foot injury after throwing a touchdown pass to Foster Moreau with five minutes to go in the third quarter. He would get it taped up on the sideline and returned to the game to lead the Raiders offense to 10 more points, including another TD toss to Henry Ruggs III to clinch the game for the Silver and Black.

In a press conference on Monday morning, Las Vegas’ head coach Jon Gruden gave a few injury updates on Carr and a couple of other Raiders.

The coach said his quarterback underwent an MRI today and is questionable for the team’s upcoming game against the Miami Dolphins. Though, Gruden did add that he thinks Carr is “going to be able to play”, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

If the Raiders starter can’t go, backup Marcus Mariota was placed on injured reserve last week, so that would put Nathan Peterman under center. Las Vegas also has Kyle Sloter, a third-year pro from Northern Colorado, on the practice squad as another quarterback or backup option in that worst-case scenario.

Gruden also weighed in on running back Josh Jacobs, however, it wasn’t much of an update as he said the running back is “very questionable” to play this Sunday. Jacobs missed yesterday’s game with ankle and toe injuries that he suffered in Week One against Baltimore.

In Jacobs’ absence, the Raiders used the combination of Kenyan Drake and Peyton Barber in Pittsburgh but with very little success. They combined for 20 carries and 41 yards, however, that could say more about the offensive line than Drake’s and Barber’s individual performances.

Rookie right tackle Alex Leatherwood exited at halftime against the Steelers and it was a bit of a mystery as he didn’t appear to be hurt on the field. Today, Gruden gave some more information on what’s bothering Leatherwood, stating:

“We’re going to call it a back strain. So, he’s being evaluated as we speak and we’ll list him as questionable until we get further information. But we need our right tackle for sure.”

Four-year veteran Brandon Parker stepped in for Leatherwood and might have even out-performed the rookie. Las Vegas is thin at offensive tackle though, so they’ll need both guys to be healthy. Parker is the only true backup tackle on the depth chart, and Devery Hamilton and Jeremiah Poutasi, both of whom struggled in the preseason, are the only other options on the practice squad.

The Dolphins are going through injury struggles of their own, too. Starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa left their game yesterday after getting hit hard on a fourth-down incompletion in the first quarter. Backup Jacoby Brissett finished the game and Miami got shut out 35-0 by Buffalo.

Tagovailoa’s x-rays came back today and were negative, revealing that he just has bruised ribs but is still questionable for this Sunday’s game. While there are still six days between now and then, the door is open for a potential backup quarterback matchup between Brissett and Peterman this Sunday. Get your popcorn ready!