Holder’s Handful: Nate Hobbs designated to return, McDaniels happy with DL, Week 13 injury report, mailbag & more!

The Las Vegas Raiders have managed to keep their playoff hopes on life support with back-to-back road wins in the last two weeks. However, the Raiders' defense has been a big question mark all season which isn’t ideal with Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers coming into town for their week 13 matchup.

The good news for Las Vegas is that help is on the way.

Out since mid-October with a broken hand, cornerback Nate Hobbs was designated to return from injured reserve last week. That ended up being a bit of a tease was Hobbs wasn’t activated and therefore didn’t suit up last Sunday in Seattle. But a new week brings new hope and it’s looking like he’s going to play against the Chargers.

A video surfaced on Twitter from Levi Edwards of Raiders.com that showed Hobbs was practicing and several other reporters confirmed that the cornerback was limited but on the field.

That wasn’t the only news stemming from the Raiders’ defensive backfield this week, though. Cornerback Anthony Averett was placed on IR on Monday, his second stint this season, paving the way for Tyler Hall to earn a spot on the active roster. Hall has suited up for the Silver and Black in the last two contests and has been one of the team’s best defensive backs. He’s allowed just six receiving yards and earned the highest PFF grade of the bunch during that timeframe.

I dove into more details, as well as other news stories, your mailbag questions and the Raiders’ and Chargers’ Week 13 injury reports, on this week’s Holder’s Handful podcast.

The full episode can be found below, and if you’d like to have your questions answered on a future show, either Tweet them at me, @MHolder95, or email them to SBPQuestions1@gmail.com.

Topics Discussed:

• Anthony Averett to IR, Tyler Hall promoted
• Josh McDaniels happy with the defensive line’s progress
• Cliff Branch to receive Hall of Fame ring
• Shane Lechler snubbed from HOF
• Josh Jacobs wins AFC Offensive Player of the Week
• Maxx Crosby gets some love
• Bryan Edwards and Johnathan Abram updates
• & more!

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