As has been the Raiders tradition for years, they haven’t shared a lot of information on Ashton Jeanty’s injured ankle, and there are still a few dots that haven’t been connected to the story.
Former NFL team doctor David Chao talked about Jeanty’s injured right ankle on Tuesday and said he is glad to hear the injury didn’t involve Jeanty’s knee. But Chao said there are still details he’d like to know before he’ll be it’s a best-case scenario for everyone involved.
Chao said he also thinks the team or those reporting on Jeanty’s injury have been withholding a little information.
“Whether it’s a low ankle or high ankle, how do you sprain your ankle that severely on a dive?” Chao asked in a post on X on Tuesday.
“You could sprain it as you push off for the dive, but those usually aren’t severe. You usually don’t sprain it when you land from the dive. So I think there are just questions. I’m not calling anyone a liar. I’m saying there is some part of the equation that we are not getting yet. I’m thrilled to hear [that it is] an ankle sprain as opposed to Achilles tendon rupture or something with his knee. I’m thrilled, but going to be a little guarded until we get a little more information.”
Since Chao made those comments, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said the belief was that Jeanty’s sprain was more of a low ankle sprain than high ankle sprain, and it sounds like there is a chance he will be able to play in the regular season opener.
Head coach Klint Kubiak declined to give an update on Jeanty’s status on Tuesday, but acknowledged many players on the team prayed for Jeanty after the injury, adding that he is a big believer in the power of prayer.
“Ashton got hurt in practice and the whole team took a knee. I think that says a lot about him being on the mend and us counting on him,” Kubiak told members of the media at Tuesday’s press conference.
“[I’m] really excited to get him back and I’m a huge believer in the power of prayer.”
‘JT the Brick’ thinks Jeanty is going to have a huge season
“If Ashton Jeanty was gone for the year, I would have been devastated,” JT said on his Raider Nation Radio show on Monday.
“Here’s why. I think he’s going to have a monster year. I think this playbook is designed for him to be Christian McCaffrey. Oh, I said it. Not be like Christian McCaffrey. Eventually, be Christian McCaffrey… if Ashton Jeanty was seriously injured, and this ankle injury could be serious, I would have been crushed because I know what he can do with this playbook.”
“What I can tell you is that on third down, when everybody is keeping an eye on [Brock] Bowers, and everybody is looking at [Jalen] Nailor and big Mike Mayer, Jeanty is going to creep out into the flat and catch footballs and make one linebacker miss and go for 19 or 20 yards. That’s going to happen a lot. My prediction. A lot.”
x: @raidersbeat