news-engine

The Las Vegas Raiders are still trying to work out a timeline for their star running back after the Ashton Jeanty injury earlier this week. The star running back left practice with an ankle injury, and since then, the updates have ranged from murky to downright negative. Today, Raiders coach Klint Kubiak told reporters that Jeanty’s outlook is still up in the air for week one. “Still on the mend. Still working to get him back,” he said. “We got another week to assess how he’s going to look going into this first game, but we’re counting on him.” This opens up a big question for the Raiders of who will replace Jeanty as the team’s starting running back if he does miss any time with this ankle injury. Jeanty is one of, if not the Raiders’ most important player, so whoever the answer to that question is, it will be huge shoes to fill. Analyzing the Ashton Jeanty Injury and Possible Replacements The Likely Option: Mike Washington Jr. The first, and most likely option to replace Jeanty if he misses time, is rookie fourth-round pick Mike Washington Jr. from Arkansas. Kubiak told reporters that he expects to see a lot of Washington on the field, whether Jeanty misses time or not. “I think they’re both going to prepare to play a lot of football. As these games unfold, you react to the game,” he said. “I think we’ve got two guys that we’re really excited about. We’ve got some younger guys that we’re really excited about, too. All of our backs are going to play this year. Offense, defense, and special teams. They’ve just got to make the most out of every rep that they get.” Obviously, if you drafted Jeanty in fantasy football, that doesn’t inspire confidence, but it does speak volumes to how well Washington Jr has played in the preseason. Over their three preseason games, he has carried the ball 23 times for 168 yards and averaged 7.3 yards per carry. This comes just after his senior season at Arkansas, where he averaged 6.4 yards per carry on 167 rushing attempts. He ended the season with 1,070 yards and eight touchdowns over 12 games played on a bad Arkansas team. The 23-year-old has clearly taken advantage of his opportunity in preseason and looks like he could be a real running back at the NFL level. He could now get a chance to prove that early on if Jeanty misses time. Regular season football is much different than preseason, but Washington Jr. has provided lots of reasons for optimism in the Raiders’ backfield room, whether it’s behind Jeanty or in place of him. The Other Options: These guys are both essentially depth options, so just grouping them made the most sense. If both Washington Jr. and Jeanty missed time for some reason, then these guys would become much more prevalent in the Raiders’ backfield. This group includes Dare Ogunbowale and Dylan Laube, but it’s mostly Ogunbowale with any track record at the NFL level. The 32-year-old veteran running back has played in nine NFL seasons, including last year with the Texans, where he carried the ball 11 times for 25 yards and caught 10 passes for 76 yards. Ogunbowale has been best utilized as a third-down and pass-catching back throughout his career, including a 2024 season in Houston where he caught 19 passes for 198 yards. That will likely be his role on this Raiders team as well if Jeanty misses time. Washington Jr. should handle most early down work while Ogunbowale steps in for passing downs and third downs frequently. In his career, Ogunbowale has 594 rushing yards and 850 receiving yards. As for Laube, he was the Raiders sixth round pick in 2024 and is entering his age-26 season. Laube has just eight rushing attempts in his career for nine yards. If he ends up being any type of real rushing option in Vegas, then something most definitely went very wrong on the injury front. Overall, the Raiders’ running back room is pretty thin behind Jeanty, and if he misses time, they will be mostly counting on Washington Jr. to be a workhorse, especially with what is expected to be a very limited passing attack. Ogunbowale should help on passing downs, but the Raiders will mostly be hoping that it never comes to this and their star running back is healthy and ready to go for their week one matchup against the Miami Dolphins on Sep. 13. For More NFL News: Detroit Lions Roster Bubble Watch: UFL Standout Tay Martin 3 Houston Texans Players With the Most to Prove Before Training Camp Ends