Oakland Raiders Take A Hit On Offense, Defense In The Desert

The Oakland Raiders walked away from the game in Arizona with a resounding 31-10 victory – but not all the news is good coming out of that win.

More from Las Vegas Raiders News

Well that certainly escalated quickly. The Oakland Raiders came away from their first preseason matchup with the Arizona Cardinals with a resounding 31-10 win. The team – especially their reserves – looked solid and performed very well. There were some very pleasant surprises that came out of the game. Unfortunately though, not all of the news in the wake of the win was good.

Fans held their breath when they saw Mario Edwards Jr. have to ride the cart back to the locker room after suffering an injury. After all, Edwards really started to shine last season and was being counted on to become a cornerstone piece of this quarterback-killing defense that HC Jack Del Rio and DC Ken Norton Jr. have assembled.

After he worked himself to death to get back to the team after a freak neck injury robbed him of the last two games of last season, all of the arrows were pointing up for Edwards. His neck healed, he was cleared to play, and the team was anxious to get him back on the field with this retooled and reloaded defense.

Unfortunately, getting him back onto the field is apparently going to have to wait a while longer. After suffering the injury, the Raiders coaching staff went out of their way to say it “wasn’t serious.” It turns out though, that it’s more serious than first feared.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is reporting that Edwards is going to miss four to six weeks with a strained hip. Which means that he’s likely going to miss at least the first couple of regular season games as he recuperates.

"“Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Edwards currently is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after suffering a strained hip on Friday night against the Cardinals.”"

More from Golden Gate Sports

That’s bad news for a defensive unit that he was expected to be a big part of. Given the skills and abilities he flashed last season, the Raiders were hoping to see him build on that and become a dominant force on the line for the team.

Unfortunately, that looks like it’s going to have to wait a little bit.

In other injury news, tight end Gabe Holmes suffered an injury that very well could end his season before it even began. Against the Cardinals, Holmes suffered an injury to his ankle that the team is terming “significant.” There are also reports floating around that because of his injury, Holmes could be headed for the season-ending injured reserve list.

Though he has yet to record a regular season catch since the Raiders signed the UDFA, the team is reportedly high on him. High enough that they are comfortable with the idea of dealing fourth year tight end Mychal Rivera, who’d had some success as a pass catcher for the team.

Next: Preseason Madness -- And So, It Begins

Rivera, thought to be on the roster bubble, may have a spot when the season starts by default. Should Holmes wind up on IR, the Raiders would likely keep Rivera on the depth chart behind Lee Smith and Clive Walford. Unless they opted to jettison him in favor of Colton Underwood or Ryan O’Malley – a move that seems unlikely.

So, while the win got this team off on the right foot, it came at a price. And all fans can do is hope that price doesn’t prove too steep once the season gets underway.

Home/Las Vegas Raiders News