Ashton Jeanty’s injury at training camp practice could have huge implications on one other position group for the Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders could be in a difficult situation with Ashton Jeanty’s injury at training camp, and it could lead to a change at quarterback earlier than expected with Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza.
According to several reports from reporters and Insiders at practice, Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty was helped off the field at practice. He injured what appeared to be his right knee and couldn’t put any pressure on his leg.
Sunday wasn’t a great day for Raiders fans. There’s still no update on how serious the knee injury is at the time of this writing, so it’s hard to say how good or bad this is. However, in situations like these, it’s always good to look for the silver lining. For the Raiders, potentially losing their star running back and the potential entire engine of the offense is not good. But this could open up some possibilities.
Raiders could be forced to play or sit Fernando Mendoza earlier or longer than expected
If this team is very bad, there’s no telling what Klint Kubiak will decide to do with his plan for Fernando Mendoza. But, there’s obvious implications at hand. Maybe with the season out of control, and a losing record coming, Kubiak puts Mendoza in earlier as the starter for more reps. that way, then he is very prepared for the 2027 season.
Or, do the Raiders then continue to play Kirk Cousins, even after a terrible start? This way they’re not throwing Mendoza out into the fire. And, if Mendoa plays bad on a bad team, his confidence and development doesn’t get hurt. There’s either way this could go. And, if Jeanty is out for the season, and we’re not saying he is, then the Raiders could certainly decide to limit Mendoza or give him more reps earlier on.
And it’s worth mentioning that, even if the Raiders are without Jeanty, the season is not completely out of hand. The Raiders will still have Mike Washington. He is a similar back to Ashton Jeanty and has showed some extreme promise. Now, is he Jeanty? No. But he’s good enough where the run game doesn’t complete trash without Jeanty. There’s certainly some implications with this injury, now it’s about waiting out the rest of the news.
