The only full game Trent Brown has played this season was in Week 5. That was the week the Raiders went into Arrowhead and handed the Chiefs their only loss of the season. Coincidence? Maybe not.
What the Raiders did in that game was show an ability to air it out that they hadn’t shown all season. Derek Carr having time to throw is key to the ability to air it out.
Since that game, Trent Brown has had two stints on the reserve/COVID-19 list; the first for testing positive and the second due to residual effects from having had the disease.
That Chiefs game was October 11. And Brown is just now getting back on the field. His activation this week brings great hope he is ready return. But head coach Jon Gruden is taking it one day at a time.
“It’s the first time Trent has really practiced with the first team in a while,” said Gruden. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
The NFL has entered the fourth quarter of its season. For the Raiders that fourth quarter starts by facing an 8-4 Colts team that is one seed ahead of the in the playoff picture.
The Colts largely compiled their record on the strength of their defense, which ranks fifth in the league in yards allowed, and is top ten across the board.
“It starts up front for them. Great front,” said Derek Carr of the Colts defense, adding that it “generates a lot of problems.”
On the edges are former Chiefs All Pro Justin Houston with 7.5 sacks and former Raiders defensive end Denico Autry with six.
With the struggles Carr has had the past couple weeks against the lowly Falcons and Jets, he is ready to enjoy a little space to work. That’s what Trent Brown could provide.
“There’s just so much more space to move,” Carr said of the pocket when his big right tackle is there. “He’s the best in the world at what he does. It’s just a credit how dominant he is. You drop back and there’s nothing there. You can manipulate people more, you can do more things as a quarterback that you mentally want to do.”
The line has been banged up overall this season. Brown has been out, but so too has left guard Richie Incognito who recently had season-ending surgery.
Filling in first for Trent Brown at right tackle and then for Incognito at left guard is Denzelle Good who, as it happens, is about to face his former team. He would very much like the Raiders’ line to be at its strongest for that game, and that means getting Brown back.
“It’s huge to have Trent Brown back,” said Good. “You guys have seen him play. He’s going to help out our run game a ton I’m sure. Having him back is just a huge morale boost for us. Makes everybody feel better having him around. Another protector.”
There’s no guarantee Brown will be able to return this week. There’s also no guarantee his return would magically take this offense back to the level it played in their big win over the Chiefs. But he might. And it could. And in such a crucial game with extreme playoff implications to it, should Brown play, that could make a considerable difference between another flat performance and looking like they belong in the playoff race.
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