In football, there’s a time when everything stops. The only thing that can be heard is a player lying still on the ground while everyone else is quiet. That’s what took place at the Las Vegas Raiders’ training camp on Sunday, and it’s the kind of thing that sticks with you.
An impressive young player in the league, Ashton Jeanty, a running back for the Raiders in his second year, got hurt during 11-on-11 drills. He went in the wrong direction after running a route and dove for a low pass from veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins. The grass took care of the rest. That’s how long he stayed on the ground until trainers arrived. When they finally helped him up, his right leg wouldn’t lift.
The people who play for him got down on their knees and prayed. This tells us something about how the time felt in that building.
Following practice, the Raiders were slow to give any information. This kind of silence often makes people tense. What’s come out since then is a little more reassuring: early reports say the injury isn’t expected to last long and is likely just a sprained ankle. But “fine” and “not long-term” are not the same thing, and the Raiders know that better than anyone else right now.
The timing of this makes it even more uncomfortable. This summer, Jeanty was just the player the Raiders needed him to be. After having a good rookie year with 975 rushing yards, 55 catches, and 10 touchdowns, Klint Kubiak, the team’s first-year head coach, wanted him to be the star of a run-heavy offense. A lot of responsibility is on the shoulders of one player. It’s also a lot of weight for a depth chart that gets very thin after him.
While the first team was practicing on Sunday, rookie Mike Washington Jr. stepped in and took reps with the first team. It’s important to note that he’s had a really good camp. In his first preseason game against Arizona, he ran six times for 63 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown that got a lot of attention. The next week, he played steadily against Houston. He seems strong. He even looks ready. But being ready in August is not the same as being asked to carry a team’s offensive philosophy into a season that hasn’t even begun yet.
The Raiders also have Dylan Laube, Dare Ogunbowale, and Roman Hemby, a rookie who was not picked in the draft. Since Ogunbowale has played in the NFL before and gained 594 yards rushing and some receiving, it would be too much of an exaggeration to call this group a comfortable backup plan.
It’s still not clear how long Jeanty will be out, if at all during the regular season. Most likely, this is the kind of thing that takes away a week of practice and nothing else. On the other hand, the Raiders might hold their breath for a few days. It’s clear that they were protecting him by not asking him to play in the preseason game against Houston. This makes what happened on Sunday at training camp feel a little more ironic than it should.
Somehow, I feel like Jeanty’s growth in Year 2 was supposed to be the main plot of this season. A young back who is getting into a groove with his new coach, showing that the sixth-round pick was well worth the money. Not much is known about camp right now other than a prayer circle on a practice field and a lot of questions. We hope that’s all it turns out to be.
