Two Raiders' Injuries Opening Up Playing Time

The Raiders’ projected starting right guard left Monday’s practice early due to an injury. Head coach Klint Kubiak said he doesn’t expect Jackson Powers-Johnson to play on Thursday.

The right guard position has been up for grabs, as Caleb Rogers is making a push for playing time. Now he’ll get an even better chance to stake his claim to the starting role.

But this is what the Raiders dealt with last season. Powers-Johnson suffered an ankle injury that limited him to eight games. Replacing him was a nightmare, as Las Vegas had the worst offensive line in the NFL.

Rogers was part of the depth that stepped in. The Raiders are seeing the same situation play out, without an obvious upgrade from last season.

There is one addition to make the depth better. The Raiders used a third-round pick on Trey Zuhn, an offensive lineman out of Texas A&M. The coaching staff’s primary goal has been to make Zuhn versatile. He has seen time at guard, tackle and center during training camp. He doesn’t appear to be in the mix for a starting job, but rather a backup for multiple positions.

Zuhn doesn’t elevate the ceiling of the Raiders’ offensive line, but Kubiak hopes he can improve the floor, by giving competent cover at multiple positions.

Dont’e Thornton

Dont’e Thornton has now missed over a week of practice – including the first preseason game – due to injury. He is expected back at some point in preseason, but not for Thursday’s game.

With Thornton’s injury, Jack Bech and Malik Benson have solidified themselves as the third and fourth wide receivers on the roster. Thornton could return and impress before the start of the regular season, but he had fallen behind before his injury.

The Raiders signed veteran wide receiver Noah Brown earlier this week. While it remains to be seen if he’ll get any significant playing time in Thursday’s preseason game, Brown could be the beneficiary of Thornton’s injury.

Ultimately the Raiders haven’t suffered too many injuries in camp. The Texans lost wide receiver Jayden Higgins to a torn ACL during Tuesday’s joint practice with the Raiders. But Las Vegas doesn’t have proven depth anywhere on the roster, so any injury will make it harder for Kubiak to have a successful first season.