Raiders Announce Unfortunate Update on Important Starter
The Las Vegas Raiders are eliminated from the playoffs, so the team is simply playing for pride the rest of the season. Considering they still have three division rivalry games left, it should be easy to find motivation.
This week, the Raiders play the Los Angeles Chargers, but they’re going to be without an important player. The team announced that tight end Michael Mayer has been ruled out for the game due to an ankle injury.
Head coach Pete Carroll noted that Mayer is not “moving at all.” The ankle injury sounds serious, and could hold him out beyond this game. This is the latest frustration that Mayer has had to deal with. Since being a second-round pick in 2023, the Raiders have spoken very highly of him, but he hasn’t been that productive on the field. The team’s wide receiver corps is very weak, so Mayer has been starting alongside fellow tight end
Raiders Not Making Big Changes on Offense
Greg Olson is taking over playcalling duties from the recently fired Chip Kelly this week. It’s not a great time for him not to have a key weapon like Mayer.
The Raiders offense was a trainwreck under Kelly, but Olson acknowledged there’s not much he can do to change things in the middle of the season.
“Well, it’s difficult to change a whole lot, and anyone that goes into an offensive system, anyone, a quarterback would tell you, it’s oftentimes like learning a new language,”
“At this point, with six games to go, we will make some tweaks, but there won’t be a lot of wholesale changes that you’ll see.”
Olson Wants Jeanty to Touch Ball More
One thing Olson will likely do differently from Kelly is not to abandon the run game early. He wants to get Ashton Jeanty the ball.
“Yeah, no question, and that’s part of the reason why we drafted him where we did,” Olson said. “Touches – whether it be the passing game or the run game, screen game, quick game. I think there’s a lot of things that he can do besides run the football.
“But how do you get the ball in your players’ hands, your best players’ hands? And he’s one of our best players, so we’ve got to find more ways to get him the ball.”
If the Raiders are going to move the ball on the ground, they need the offensive line to play better.
“When you look across the league, the successful teams are the teams that run the ball when they want to run it, not just to run it to maintain balance,” Olson said. “But we’ve got to get in the mindset of when we want to run the football, we’ll run the football, no matter what the situation or who we’re playing.
“A lot of people talk about balance, and certainly we’re looking for balance in the fourth quarter, but we’ve just got to get better at that part of what we’re doing.”
Bills Get Worst News Ahead of Critical Steelers Game
The Buffalo Bills will be shorthanded when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers in a critical game for their playoff hopes — and will see an opponent that is getting healthier.
The Bills have some critical injuries on offense, losing two of their starting offensive lineman. The Steelers will be getting their top player back, with a report on Friday that Aaron Rodgers is set to play for the first time since suffering a broken wrist.
Mike Tomlin Makes Big Announcement on Aaron Rodgers
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin announced on Friday that Rodgers was able to return to practice in full after breaking his left wrist.
“He was a full participant today with no designation for the game,” Tomlin told reporters after practice, via ESPN. “So it’s all systems go.”
Rodgers was hurt in the team’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals and missed last week’s loss, but returns with the team’s playoff hopes fraying. The Steelers lost their lead in the AFC North, but have an opportunity to seize it back after the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Bengals on Thanksgiving night.
Tomlin said Rodgers is growing more comfortable, and the team’s medical staff felt good giving him the OK to play.
“Just more reps certainly, but certainly it’s another week,” Tomlin said. “And so I’m sure there’s more comfort there — not only in him, but in the medical experts.”
The Steelers have more important returns, with wide receiver DK Metcalf and edge rusher Alex Highsmith both expected to play after being limited with injuries.
“It feels great to know I’m back,” Highsmith said. “It’s definitely been frustrating the season regarding injuries, especially last year or two. So it just feels good to be back.”
Bills Shorthanded on Offense
The Bills are trending in the opposite direction. Head coach Sean McDermott said on Friday that both starting tackles — Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown — would be unable to play against the Steelers.
While it’s not clear exactly how the Bills will reconfigure their offensive line, they have a few options. Veterans Ryan Van Demark and Alec Anderson both have extensive experience, filling in during injuries and serving as sixth offensive linemen for run-heavy schemes.
The team also activated the practice window for lineman Tylan Grable, who has been out since training camp.
McDermott said he was still confident in the team’s reserve linemen, calling them gritty and prepared to play.
“We’re going through some of the different options,” McDermott said. “Have a lot of confidence in those guys. Some of the guys are younger, some are a little bit older … What they lack in experience, they’re gonna make up for in grit, toughness and those that are playing alongside of them will help them out as well best they can.”
The game has major implications for Buffalo’s playoff hopes. They can move to greater than a 90% chance of making the playoffs with a win, but would drop to below 70% with a loss. They fell to the No. 7 spot after last week’s loss to the Houston Texans.
