Bryan Edwards left the Raiders’ Week three game against he Patriots with a leg injury. He wasn’t placed on injured reserve which suggested the Raiders thought he’d be back in less than three weeks; the minimum for a player placed on injured reserve this season.
That was a month ago. Clearly a timeline the Raiders weren’t expecting.
Last week Edwards returned to practice, but Gruden said well ahead of time that he was doubtful to actually play when the team traveled to Cleveland last Sunday. This week the tone is far more optimistic.
“He had a really good few days of practice,” said offensive coordinator Greg Olson. “No noticeable limp, so we feel good about him and how he’s looked the last couple days. He’s been in the meeting rooms and he’s stayed with us in terms of the mental part of getting ready for games and we were excited to have him back on the field yesterday.”
Should Edwards return to the lineup this week, it’s not for sure that he would step right back into the starting role he had to begin the season. Nelson Agholor has emerged as one of Derek Carr’s top targets with the veteran wide receiver maintaining an impressive 19.5 yards per catch (19.5) on while leading the team in receiving touchdowns (4) on 15 receptions.
Either way, Edwards’ return would be a welcome sight. The rookie third round pick had five catches on six targets for 99 yards in his three starts.