Tag: Las Vegas Raiders

Will Kareem Hunt play this week? Injury updates for Chiefs RB

#Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt is dealing with a toe injury. Here are the latest updates. 

Kareem Hunt is the Kansas City Chiefs leading rusher through 11 games but was on the defending Super Bowl champions’ injury report again this week heading into their Week 13 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders on Black Friday.

Kareem Hunt injury update

Hunt was listed on Kansas City’s Tuesday and Wednesday injury reports due to his toe. Despite this recent setback, Hunt was a full participant in both of the Chiefs’ practice sessions this week and is expected to play against the Raiders.

How long will Kareem Hunt be out?

Though the exact nature of his toe injury is unclear, Hunt isn’t expected to miss any time due to his condition.

Chiefs RB depth chart

Hunt has been filling in for Isiah Pacheco, who has been on Kansas City’s injured reserve list. While Pacheco is primed to make his return to the field in the coming weeks, Hunt is likely to remain a key part of the Chiefs’ offense. Samaje Perine, Carson Steele, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire will be available to back up Hunt on Friday.

Will Spencer Shrader play this week? Injury updates for Chiefs kicker

#Chiefs kicker Spencer Shrader is dealing with a hamstring injury. Here are the latest updates. 

The Kansas City Chiefs recently added kicker Spencer Shrader when they were forced to place Harrison Butker on injured reserve.

While Shrader has done an admirable job in his two games with the Chiefs, he is already dealing with an injury himself.

Will Kansas City need to start a new kicker when they face the Las Vegas Raiders on Black Friday?

Spencer Shrader injury update

Shrader has sustained an injury to his right hamstring and he was not available to practice on Tuesday or Wednesday.

While there may still be remaining hope for him to play against the Raiders, the Chiefs signed veteran kicker Matthew Wright to take his place on Friday if necessary.

How long will Spencer Shrader be out?

It is unclear whether Shrader will need to miss time in Week 13, but it seems likely that he will be sidelined on Friday given that he has missed two practices and Kansas City’s decision to sign Wright.

Chiefs K depth chart

If Shrader is officially ruled out, Wright will take over as the Chiefs’ starting kicker.

Why Antonio Pierce called the Raiders the worst team in football

This needs some context.

Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce found a very unusual way to describe his team ahead of its Friday afternoon game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

During media availability on Wednesday, he called his Raiders “the worst team in football.” Wait, what?

Here’s the full quote for context: “Let’s call a spade a spade, right, the best team in football against the worst team in football. Let’s change the narrative, alright? Let’s go out there and make it a dogfight. Let’s make it ugly. Let’s make it scrappy.

“It’s Black Friday. Let’s create a little chaos. Let’s get back to Raider football and have some fun and some personality and let it loose.”

While that phrasing might make Las Vegas fans do a double-take ahead of Friday’s game, Pierce pretty clearly seems to be pointing out a public narrative that his team is the worst in the NFL since it is 2-9.

Pierce doesn’t at all seem to be insulting the Raiders as being the worst in football as much as he’s accepting that the tepid public expectations for his team in Friday’s game against quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

Rather than saying his team stinks, Pierce clearly seems to be saying that he’s hoping his team can change some minds about that notion.

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Will JuJu Smith-Schuster play this week? Injury updates for Chiefs WR

#Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is dealing with a hip injury. Here are the latest updates. 

Earlier this season, JuJu Smith-Schuster missed time from his role as one of Patrick Mahomes’ favorite targets in the Kansas City Chiefs offense due to a hamstring injury.

He returned to the field against the Buffalo Bills in Week 11, but was back on Kansas City’s injury report when the Chiefs faced the Carolina Panthers last on Sunday.

Will Smith-Schuster be available for Kansas City’s Week 13 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders?

JuJu Smith-Schuster injury update

Smith-Schuster is listed with a hip injury on the Chiefs’ latest injury report. However, his condition did not affect his ability to practice on Tuesday and Wednesday.

How long will JuJu Smith-Schuster be out?

At this juncture, Smith-Schuster isn’t expected to miss any time due to his injury.

Chiefs WR depth chart

Smith-Schuster will play alongside Xavier Worthy, DeAndre Hopkins, Mecole Hardman, and Justin Watson against Las Vegas.

Rashee Rice and Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown remain on injured reserve.

Will Jawaan Taylor play this week? Injury updates for Chiefs OL

#Chiefs OL Jawaan Taylor is dealing with ankle and knee injuries. Here are the latest updates. 

The Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive line has been an area of concern recently, and starting right tackle Jawaan Taylor was listed on their first two injury reports for Week 13.

Will he be available for the Chiefs’ matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders on Black Friday?

Jawaan Taylor injury update

Taylor is listed as having ankle and knee injuries the exact nature of these conditions is unknown. Considering that he was a full participant in Kansas City’s workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday, Taylor is expected to play against Las Vegas.

How long will Jawaan Taylor be out?

Jawaan Taylor is not expected to miss the Chiefs’ Week 13 matchup against the Raiders, given his full participation in workouts this week.

Chiefs OL depth chart

While Taylor is anticipated to play on Friday, Ethan Driskell should be available to back him up at right tackle. The other tackles that should be available for Kansas City will be Wanya Morris, Kingsley Suamataia, and recently signed free agent D.J. Humphries, who could make his Chiefs debut on Friday.

Sincere McCormick performance to earn more carries for Raiders vs Chiefs

Former undrafted RB Sincere McCormick’s debut last week has earned him a bigger workload when Raiders face the Chiefs in week 13.

With both the Raiders top two backs out with injury last week against the Broncos, practice squad back Sincere McCormick got his first real shot in an NFL game. And he showed up well for himself.

The former undrafted free agent out of Texas-San Antonio carried the ball five times for 33 yards (6.6 yards per carry). This for a guy who had never had a carry in the NFL before. But he earned his opportunity with his play in practice

“We see it every day in practice,” Pierce said of McCormick. “Just opportunities, right? How many guys can we dress? We can’t dress five running backs each week. You don’t want to see it happen through injuries and guys getting hurt or anything of that nature, but when he got in there his first carry he went 10+ yards and the next one, he’s bouncing off guys. Just the energy that he brought to our offense, I really liked that.”

McCormick joined the Raiders prior to last season, and just hung around before last week, with both Zamir White and Alexander Mattison lost to injury in the same week, he got his shot.

Well, it’s very possible, even likely, that the Raiders will once again be without White and Mattison. And their absences as as McCormick’s performance may see an increased role for him in the offense this week when they head to Kansas City to face the Chiefs.

“I’m excited about Sincere this week,” Antonio Pierce added. “I’m fired up to see him carry the ball.”

McCormick figures to get more carries between the tackles while Ameer Abdullah could continue to see carries in space and catching passes out of the backfield.

Aidan O’Connell set to start for Raiders week 13 vs Chiefs

Seeing Aidan O’Connell practice this week, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce has named him the starter week 13 vs the Kansas City Chiefs.

Just in time for the loss of Gardner Minshew, the Raiders get back their former starter, Aidan O’Connell from injured reserve and he is set to start Friday when the Raiders face off against the Chiefs in Kansas City.

“Feel good about Aidan,” said head coach Antonio Pierce. “He’s been dialed in obviously throughout this time that he’s been on IR, he’s been in all the meetings, he’s been very encouraging on the sideline, he’s got that laser eye focus right now. Great opportunity for him.”

O’Connell had been named the team’s starter over Minshew in week six and in his second start, he suffered a broken thumb that landed him on IR. This is the first week he was eligible to return, but it was a matter of whether Pierce thought he was ready to go right away or not.

For that, he needed to see him throw the ball and his command of the offense. It was a short week, so he had just two days to get an idea of O’Connell’s readiness. He’s seen enough to make the call to give him the nod.

“He carried himself like a starter.,” Pierce continued.

“You can just look in his eyes, look at his demeanor, it wasn’t a guy like ‘I’m out for the season’, no, it was ‘I’ll be back, I’m ready to be back,’ and he worked his tail off to get back.”

O’Connell won his start at Arrowhead last season on Christmas Day and gets back in time to try and do it again.

Had O’Connell not been ready, Desmond Ridder would have started instead. Ridder will be his backup for the game.

Daniel Jones makes decision on next team after spurning Broncos’ rival

Daniel Jones won’t land in the AFC West. He has opted to join the Vikings after turning down interest from the Raiders.

Former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is signing with the Minnesota Vikings, Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports first reported Wednesday.

Jones received offers from multiple teams after being cut by the Giants and he spurned interest from the Las Vegas Raiders, according to Schultz.

The Raiders were seeking more help at quarterback after losing Gardner Minshew to a season-ending shoulder injury against the Denver Broncos in Week 12.

Jones will now serve as a backup behind Sam Darnold in Minnesota. He will initially join the practice squad but is expected to be activated to the active roster after getting up to speed.

Darnold is scheduled to become a free agent in 2025 so it wouldn’t be surprising if Jones is a candidate to re-sign in the spring to serve as the Vikings’ veteran backup behind J.J. McCarthy next season.

McCarthy is sitting out his rookie season with a knee injury, but he is expected to be fully recovered in time for the 2025 campaign.

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First look: Pro Bowl OL spotted at first practice with Chiefs

#Chiefs fans got their first look at Pro Bowl OL D.J. Humphries during Kansas City’s first practice session of Week 13.

The Kansas City Chiefs recently signed free agent offensive tackle D.J. Humphries this week to shore up the depth of their front five.

Humphries took his first reps with the Chiefs during Kansas City’s practice session on Tuesday ahead of the defending Super Bowl champions’ Week 13 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Though it is unclear if or when Humphries will earn a starting role with the Chiefs, his experience should prove to be a valuable asset for Kansas City’s young linemen, who will be able to hone their craft with the 2021 Pro Bowl selection at their sides.

Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com shared a video of Humphries working out with his new teammates on Tuesday:

While Humphries finds his niche in the Chiefs offense, second-year lineman Wanya Morris is expected to maintain his status as Kansas City’s starting left tackle.

Stay tuned to see if Humphries will be available for the Chiefs’ tilt against the Raiders.

 

Chiefs will be looking to clinch playoff berth week 13 vs Raiders

There are several scenarios in which the Chiefs could clinch a playoff berth with a week 13 win vs the Raiders at Arrowhead.

Can the Raiders play spoilers this week? They shocked the world on Christmas Day last year, going to Arrowhead and beating the Chiefs. Now they go back to Arrowhead on (wait for it) BLACK Friday. And the Chiefs will have a playoff berth on their minds for the game.

A win alone over the Raiders won’t get the Chiefs in, but there are several scenarios that could punch their ticket, all involving either an AFC West team or the Miami Dolphins.

These are those scenarios:

KC win + MIA loss or tie
KC win + DEN loss
KC win + LAC loss + DEN tie
KC tie + MIA loss

The Dolphins look like the most likely of the three other teams to go down. They face the 8-3 Packers at Lambeau on Thanksgiving Day, so we might already know if the Chiefs will need any actual help by Thursday night.

Should the Dolphins win, and the Chiefs win, then it will be up to the Chargers who head to Atlanta to play the 6-5 Falcons on Sunday. And finally, it then falls to the Broncos who have the easiest go of it at home against the 3-8 Browns on Monday Night.

So, with the odds being that one of these teams will lose, it will be up to the Raiders as to whether the Chiefs are celebrating another playoff berth