Raiders: Damon Arnette re-injures thumb, could be headed to IR
By Justin Fried
Las Vegas Raiders’ cornerback Damon Arnette re-injured his thumb and might be placed on IR.
The Las Vegas Raiders have dealt with their fair share of injuries woes in recent weeks. And now, another rookie is likely set to miss some time in the form of cornerback Damon Arnette.
Arnette came into the 2020 season with a broken thumb, but looked to play through the injury, much as he had done while at Ohio State. Through three weeks, things seemed to be going fine.
Sure, Arnette experienced a few rookie struggles, but for the most part, he held his own. Unfortunately, the first-round pick reportedly re-injured his thumb after falling awkwardly in the team’s Week 3 loss to the New England Patriots.
As a result, there’s a good chance he’s forced to the sidelines for at least a few weeks.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Tuesday that Arnette would be visiting a thumb specialist to determine the extent of the injury. But the fear is that he could miss up to a month and a half which would, of course, land him on injured reserve.
Damon Arnette is the latest Raiders player to suffer an injury.
For a Raiders team already dealing with injuries to the likes of Trent Brown, Richie Incognito, and Nick Kwiatkoski — among others — this certainly isn’t ideal.
In fact, this is yet another blow to the 2020 NFL Draft class with the likes of Tanner Muse, Henry Ruggs, and Bryan Edwards also dealing with injuries.
That means that the first five of seven draft picks in this past class are either out injured or have been traded away (Lynn Bowden). General manager Mike Mayock can’t be a happy camper right now.
The Raiders will likely turn to veteran Nevin Lawson to fill in for Arnette alongside Travyon Mullen in the meantime. Lawson was suspended for the first game of the season but played over 50 percent of defensive snaps in Week 3.
The team could also look to bring back Prince Amukamara who they surprisingly released before the season started. Unfortunately, one promising member of the practice squad won’t be an option as undrafted rookie Madre Harper was signed by the New York Giants off the Raiders’ practice squad.
The Raiders offense is as diverse as it’s been in a while. dark. Next
Arnette and the Raiders will await the results from his meeting with the specialist. But the initial prognosis certainly doesn’t sound very promising.