Malcolm Koonce is developing into one of the more underrated pass rushers in the NFL, and he has earned to the opportunity to play for a huge payday after the 2024 season.
Koonce is expected to play a key role along the Raiders defensive line this year, and the stars are lining up for him to have a big season as opposing offenses will have no choice but to give added attention to Maxx Crosby and Christian Wilkins.
Unfortunately for Koonce, he has been ruled out of the season opener against the Chargers, and there aren’t many public details on the nature of the knee injury he suffered at practice this week. Antonio Pierce addressed the media on Friday and wouldn’t give any information on Koonce other than “He’ll be out. It happened during practice.”
The good news, though, is that the person who broke the news on the nature of Koonce’s injury offered an encouraging update on Friday evening.
It might not be a mainstream update, but the source was ahead of everyone else in explaining what happened to Koonce, and it seems reasonable to trust his latest update. Additionally, he has a track record of getting things right in the past.
Mainstream sources might have some familiarity with Koonce’s injury, but teams like to limit injury information from reaching the public. In this case, it sounds like “a couple weeks” is the hopeful timeline on Koonce’s return and that might be all we get until he’s back on the practice field.
In Koonce’s absence, the Raiders are expected to lean more on former first-round pick Tyree Wilson and Janarius Robinson, who showed some promise in training camp and the preseason.
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I believe the Raiders IR Koonce with a designation for return in4-6 weeks.
I would definitely be giving Robinson lots of time while Koonce is out. Id use Williams too but would keep him on a tight leash and/or put him inside if he’s not getting it done outside..