After going down with a lower leg injury on August 23rd, the updates on Ashton Jeanty’s injured ankle are seemingly getting better every day.
Jeanty was observed working out with trainers earlier in the week (albeit accidentally), and every indication from that report and others has been that he is making significant progress in his recovery.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to give a real update on Jeanty when the injury initially happened, and he offered his latest take on Tuesday.
“It looks like he’s on track to have a legitimate chance to play against the Miami Dolphins,” Schefter said about Jeanty on ESPN’s NFL Live.
“He went down about 10 days ago or so with a sprained ankle injury and the Raiders have really avoided commenting on how significant it is, but it certainly is not a long-term injury, and it doesn’t sound like it’s very significant,” Schefter continued.
“Even Klint Kubiak has referred to the fact that Jeanty is coming along well. It sounds like he’s going to have a chance to be out there. It’s a later start to the season than normal which benefits Jeanty and the Raiders in this particular case. They want to get that run game going, which is one of the primary reasons that they hired Klint Kubiak away from the Seattle Seahawks. It sounds like there is a realistic chance that Ashton Jeanty will be out there will Kirk Cousins on opening day.”
Assuming Jeanty will play in the season opener, it will be interesting to see how the timeshare works between Jeanty and rookie running back Mike Washington Jr.
No one in a Raiders uniform had a more impressive preseason than Washington, and we learned this week that Washinton was a player head coach Klint Kubiak desperately wanted in the draft. That bodes well for his chances of seeing the field early and relatively often.
It’s still early, but the Washington pick already looks like one of the better value picks in the 2026 draft.
x: @raidersbeat