Raiders considering giving Jeanty (ankle, foot) a week to heal
Ashton Jeanty is averaging 2.9 yards per carry in his last four games and while some of that has to do with blocking, Jeanty clearly has not been playing at full strength.
Since re-aggravating his ankle in week one against the Dolphins, Jeanty has not shown the playmaking abilities that convinced the Raiders to take him with the sixth overall pick a year ago. The offensive line has been a major issue for the Raiders, but in the few opportunities where he has been given space, Jeanty has not looked as explosive as he did a year ago or at Boise State.
Every indication over the last few weeks has been that Jeanty is fine to play, but the film tells a different story. Something isn’t right and it sounds like the Raiders might finally take an aggressive approach to getting him back to full strength.
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, Jeanty’s status will be one to watch this week.
“Jeanty has been bothered by an ankle injury since the preseason and is now dealing with a foot injury as well. He was questionable to play Sunday and only got cleared after a nine-minute pregame workout and discussion with team trainers and coaches. But keep an eye on this situation,” Graziano reported on Wednesday.
“The Raiders have internally discussed giving Jeanty a week off to heal at some point. He does not want to take a week off and has pushed to play through the injuries. But the Raiders’ bye isn’t until Week 13, and there may come a week in the near future where they decide the best thing for Jeanty and for the team is to rest him. They have confidence in rookie running back Mike Washington Jr.‘s ability to hold things down for a game or two with Dylan Laube backing him up, if it came to that.”
What is strange is that if the Raiders have confidence in Mike Washinton Jr., they certainly didn’t show it in week 5 against the Patriots.
With Jeanty clearly affected by his ankle, Washington only got one carry in New England while Dylan Laube tallied four carries and a redzone touch for his first NFL touchdown.
Pass protection has been an issue for Washington, which may have affected his playing time in week 5, but it sounds like there is a chance Washington’s workload could get a significant boost in week 6 against the Bills.
x: @raidersbeat
Rest him the balance of this year