Sunday Hunter Renfrow left the Raiders game against the Jets with a rib injury. Today the Raiders learned it was a broken rib, and according to reports, it included a punctured lung.
“Got some bad news. We feel that Hunter Renfrow hurt his rib, he’s going to be out for a while,” Gruden said Monday.
The Raiders are still looking into the severity of the injury, and once they know, they will decide whether to place in him on injured reserve. But with just five games remaining, and the Raiders in the playoff hunt, it’s a significant loss regardless.
“It’s a big, big loss for us,” Gruden said of Renfrow. “We’ve had a lot of turnover at that position this year. It’s really too bad. I’ll say this; Renfrow is going to be a great Raider, he’s really been playing good for us.”
That leads to the question of who will replace Renfrow at slot receiver. The rookie has caught 36 passes for 396 yards and 2 touchdowns. That’s the second-most receptions on the team behind tight end Darren Waller (59) and third in receiving yards behind Waller (707) and receiver Tyrell Williams (480).
The Raiders need to scramble to replace that production, and the depth at the position was depleted long ago. It could be a fellow rookie who steps up.
“We obviously have Keelan Doss, who’s played the slot a little bit this year. He’s a good player.” Gruden said. “Darren Waller can play in the slot, [Derek] Carrier can play in the slot, and Zay Jones made a living in the slot at East Carolina, so we’ll see who we’ll plug in there as we prepare for the Chiefs.”
Doss has been inactive the past four weeks and has been active just five games this season, so going from that to starting in the slot would be a big step up for him.
Obviously, Waller and Carrier’s roles probably won’t change much. As tight ends, they basically always line up in the slot but aren’t technically slot receivers. Zay Jones started at outside receiver last week, and that could continue, or Trevor Davis could come in and play on the outside with Jones moving inside.
The Raiders have a few options, but none are great. Renfrow has been a steady presence in the slot all season, proving vital on third down in particular. Both Jones and Davis were added midseason to replace the losses of Ryan Grant, JJ Nelson, and Dwayne Harris. One more obstacle for the Raiders to overcome with their annual trip to Arrowhead upcoming.
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