They call it the safety position because it’s the last line of defense. So, then, what happens if your last line of defense is at its last line of defense?
That’s what the Raiders are facing right now. They will be without their interception leading safety Jeff Heath (concussion) on Sunday when they face the Colts and could be without starting safety Johnathan Abram, who missed last Sunday with a knee injury and is questionable for this week’s game.
Should Abram be unable to go, that would leave just Erik Harris and Dallin Leavitt as the starters with some creativity needed should one of them be lost during the game.
“We’re running out of safeties,” said head coach Jon Gruden. “Hopefully, Abram can play and stay healthy. Something he hasn’t done. We need him to do that to be the player that we need him to be. Dallin Leavitt is a trained safety, he’ll play back there and play well if need be.”
What they would do should they be forced to find another player to come in a safety is not known. Nickel cornerback Lamarcus Joyner is an experienced safety, so he could potentially move. Although with starting cornerback Damon Arnette out this week with a concussion, they can ill afford to lose a cornerback to another position.
The team brought back Daryl Worley this week, who played some safety for them last season, but he won’t be eligible to play until next week.
Isaiah Johnson has played some snaps at safety, but he too is questionable for the game with a groin injury.
“We’ll have a contingency plan, but right now we are getting tired of contingency plans, to be honest with you,” Gruden added. “We’ve had a lot of defensive players go down, especially in the secondary and we’ll use the next-man-up as they all say but Leavitt is a guy we’ll be prepared to go to quick.”
The first step is to find out if Abram can go. If he can’t, it gets sketchy. If he can, the hope is that he is able to perform at a high level despite his injury. No use fighting through an injury if it causes you to be a liability.
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