This season the NFL decided to continue with the same short term injured reserve rules they implemented in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rule is that instead of players placed on partial season IR being out at least eight games, they are allowed to return after three weeks.
Any player placed on IR after the 53-man roster cutdown is on short term IR and thus may return as early as three weeks into the season.
Several Raiders players were placed on short term IR prior to the start of the season. Three weeks are in the books, which means all of them are eligible to return.
Those players were RB Jalen Richard, LB Nicholas Morrow, LB Javin White, and CB Keisean Nixon.
Whether any of these players returns is, of course, dependent upon whether they are healthy enough to do so.
The least likely to be ready to come back would figure to be the two linebackers. Both Morrow and White suffered injuries within days of each other during the preseason. White’s was carted off the field in the preseason opener with an apparent serious injury. A few days later, Morrow left the team’s scrimmage with the Rams with an injury and head coach Jon Gruden said shortly thereafter that Morrow’s injury could actually keep him out even longer than White.
Richard could be the most likely to be activated this week. He has been missing the longest, having suffered a foot injury on August 4. The Raiders could also use the depth at running back with Josh Jacobs missing the past two games with and ankle injury.