Thursday, Raiders edge rusher Malcolm Koonce left practice with a knee injury. And Friday head coach Antonio Pierce announced Koonce will miss Sunday’s game in Los Angeles against the Chargers.
Koonce came on strong late last season with eight sacks in nine games as the starting edge rusher opposite Maxx Crosby. Now the Raiders will look to one of the team’s reserve edge rushers to fill in at the last minute.
“When one guy’s (down), next man up mentality,” said Pierce. “The thing about it, Tyree Wilson, JRob [Janarius Robinson], those guys have had a lot of opportunities to play and we expect them to step up and play well.”
This is a significant loss for the Raiders. He and Crosby had formed a significant duo last season and were the primary factors in this Raiders defense stepping up and being among the best in the NFL over the latter half of the season.
Wilson was selected with the seventh overall pick in last year’s draft and has largely been a disappointment so far. They would certainly like it if he could start living up to that, but there’s been no indication he will. Janarius Robinson has looked much better, including dominating preseason play this year. Question is if it will translate when facing a starting offensive unit.