Tag: Malcolm Koonce

Raiders DE Malcolm Koonce to have season-ending knee surgery

Raiders DE Malcolm Koonce to have season-ending knee surgery

Just prior to the start of the season, Malcolm Koonce suffered a knee injury in practice that had him placed on injured reserve. That designation would have had him out at least four games. But it turns out the injury is more serious than that. According to multiple reports, he will be having surgery on his knee that will end his 2024 season.

Koonce came on strong the latter half of last season and was entering a contract year with the hopes of earning a long term deal. This puts a damper on that as well as the hopes he and Maxx Crosby would continue to be a pass rushing duo for the Raiders again this season.

With Koonce now done for the year, the team will hope 2023 seventh overall pick Tyree Wilson will start showing some development. The other pass rushers in the rotation are Janarius Robinson and Charles Snowden with former first round pick K’Lavon Chaisson on the practice squad.

Raiders sign former 1st round EDGE to replace injured former 1st round EDGE

How do you replace a former top pick edge rusher? Why, with another former top pick edge rusher, of course.

Last Thursday, the Raiders lost starting edge rusher Malcolm Koonce to a knee injury. Six snaps into the game on Sunday, they lost former seventh overall pick Tyree Wilson to a knee injury. Thus leaving the position not only weaker, but lacking depth.

The Koonce injury was a huge blow. But they were hoping for the depth to step up and lessen that blow until Koonce could return. The Wilson injury meant something needed to happen.

“It got thin real quick,” Pierce said of the defensive end depth. “Telesco’s working on that as we speak.”

Well, Telesco’s work has yielded a result as the Raiders have signed former first round pick (20th overall) K’Lavon Chaissan to their practice squad.

Chaisson was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 20th overall pick in the 2020 draft out of LSU.

Over four season in Jacksonville, he had just five career sacks. They didn’t pick up his fifth year option and he left as a free agent. He signed with the Panthers this offseason and was released last week, ahead of the season opener.

Along with the Chaisson addition, the Raiders have also added CB Kyu Blu Kelly to the practice squad. Kelly was a 5th round pick by the Ravens in the 2023 draft out of Stanford. He didn’t make the roster out of camp and spent time on three different teams last season — the Packers, Seahawks, and Commanders.

Raiders DE Tyree Wilson suffered sprained knee in opener, could miss some time

Tyree Wilson could miss some time with his knee injury.

The hopes that Tyree Wilson might step up entering his second season took a hit Sunday. The 2023 seventh overall pick lasted just six snaps in the team’s season opener against the Chargers before leaving with a knee injury and not returning.

Following the game, he was sporting a brace on his right knee and walked gingerly with the brace trying to ensure minimal movement of the knee.

Monday morning brought the prognosis. He has a sprained knee. This means it’s not expected to be a long term injury, but how long he will be missing is not yet known.

https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1833199546408518083

The team had hoped Wilson would step up and help fill the void left by the loss of Malcolm Koonce to a knee injury this past week that landed him on injured reserve.

Instead it was Charles Snowden, who was just signed off the practice squad, who led the way along with Janarius Robinson. Maxx Crosby, of course, played every snap at the other defensive end spot.

“It got thin real quick,” Pierce said of the defensive end depth. “Telesco’s working on that as we speak.”

3 causes for concern for Raiders vs Chargers in Week 1

Raiders causes for concern vs Chargers in Week 1

There are some reasons for optimism if you’re the Raiders facing the Chargers Sunday. But there are also plenty of reasons for concern. There are a few.

Big loss on Defense

There’s no question this Raiders team’s strength is its defense. That defense is expected to carry them to a few wins this season. the most important part of that defense is the pass rush. And one of their starters was just lost to a knee injury.

Malcolm Koonce was expected to continue his scorching hot pass rushing that he displayed after Antonio Pierce took over midway through last season. He and Maxx Crosby were to be a dynamic one-two punch. Now the Raiders will have to hope either Janarius Robinson or Tyree Wilson can pick up the slack.

Quarterback comparison

This is going to happen a lot this year to the Raiders. But it’s especially true this week with Justin Herbert lining up behind center for the Chargers. Raiders QB Gardner Minshew makes up for his lack of elite physical talents with grit and moxie. While Herbert has all the physical tools to be an elite quarterback.

Outside of his injury shortened season in 2024, Herbert averages over 31 touchdowns to less than 12 interceptions per season. Minshew’s career high came in 2023 when he started 13 games and threw 15 touchdowns to nine interceptions.

At the most important position, the Chargers has a pretty extreme advantage.

Jim Harbaugh bonafides

Even if you remove Jim Harbaugh’s college football coaching, he still was a QB coach for two seasons with the Raiders (2002-03) head coach for four seasons with the 49ers (2011-14). He never had a losing season in San Francisco. He won the NFC West twice, went to the playoffs three times — winning at least one playoff game each time — made the NFC Championship game twice, and the Super Bowl once.

By comparison, Antonio Pierce’s NFL coaching experience consists of two seasons as a linebackers coach, and nine games as the interim head coach.

Harbaugh has the experience and is proven. Not having any recent NFL game tape of Harbaugh’s coaching style doesn’t help when trying to game plan against him either.

Raiders send DE Malcolm Koonce to injured reserve, sign practice squad DE Charles Snowden

Malcolm Koonce heads to injured reserve and is replaced on the roster by practice squad DE Charles Snowden

As of two days ago, it there was no reason for concern for the health of Malcolm Koonce. Then on Thursday he left practice with knee soreness. By Friday he was ruled OUT for the Raiders season opener against the Chargers. And Saturday he headed to injured reserve.

Koonce will be out at least four games with his injury.

The third year edge rusher broke out the latter half of last season, putting up eight sacks in nine games. He flourished under Antonio Pierce as head coach and was expected to be a big part of the defensive success again this season opposite Maxx Crosby.

To replace Koonce on the roster, the team signed Charles Snowden off the practice squad.

Expected to step up for Koonce is the combo of Janarius Robinson and Tyree Wilson. Robinson and Charles Snowden both showed out in the preseason, earning Robinson the right to be the next man up, and Snowden a spot on the practice squad and now on the active roster.

Raiders vs Chargers final Week 1 injury report: Malcolm Koonce, Jackson Powers-Johnson both OUT

Malcolm Koonce, Jackson Powers-Johnson both OUT for Raiders vs Chargers

The final injury report for the Raiders and Chargers is out and as expected, Malcolm Koonce (knee) is OUT. But he isn’t the only one. He will be joined by rookie guard Jackson Powers-Johnson (illness) and rookie fourth round CB DeCamerion Richardson (hamstring).

https://twitter.com/LeviDamien/status/1832169943477129399

Rookie fifth round pick Tommy Eichenberg (knee) is officially Questionable for the Raiders.

The Chargers will be without starting receiver DJ Chark for the game. Which means the starting receivers will be Quentin Johnston and Josh Palmer.

They also have a couple cornerbacks who are questionable, including starter Asante Samuel who was limited Friday with a shoulder injury.

Raiders lose DE Malcolm Koonce to knee injury, will miss season opener vs Chargers

DE Malcolm Koonce suffered a knee injury in practice this week and will miss season opener vs Chargers

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.

Raiders, Chargers Week 1: Malcolm Koonce, Jackson Powers-Johnson added to injury report

Malcolm Koonce, Jackson Powers-Johnson added to Raiders injury report

Thursday brought the second injury report of the week for the Raiders. And two names were added to that report who weren’t on it at all on Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/LeviDamien/status/1831815419403104430

Starting edge rusher Malcolm Koonce suffered a knee injury and was officially listed as limited.

With three drafted rookies limited the past two days, they were joined by second round rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson, bringing the total injured rookies to four along with top pick Brock Bowers, fourth round pick DeCamerion Richardson, and fifth rounder Tommy Eichenberg — all of whom are limited.

Powers-Johnson was listed with an illness, but he was already looking at not seeing much, if any, playing time due to missing all of training camp with an undisclosed injury. Which means his chances of playing in the season opener in Los Angeles only decrease now.

Not much changed for the Chargers. Wide receiver DJ Chark (hip) missed a second straight practice. Fellow receiver Josh Palmer showed up with a knnee issue, but he was still listed as a full participant. Only CB Tarheeb Still (hip) was limited.

These Raiders players deserve to join NFL $10M+ APY club right now

These Raiders players deserve to join NFL $10M+ APY club

Right now there are only eight NFL clubs who have fewer players making an average of $10 million per season than the Raiders (6). With some $34.5 million in cap room, the Raiders should seriously be thinking about making a few more players offers to keep them around for a while.

There are several players who are entering the last year of their contract who the Raiders would be very wise to lock up as soon as possible.

Not all of those players are going to command more than $10 million per season. But there are two who absolutely should, based on their talent and at the premium position they play.

Let’s start with:

Malcolm Koonce

The former third round pick out of Buffalo came on strong late last season when Antonio Pierce took over as interim head coach. And he has continued to lay claim to the starting defensive end spot opposite Maxx Crosby.

As Jon Gruden notoriously said not long after stupidly trading away Khalil Mack: “Good pass rushers are hard to find.” Well, the Raiders tapped into Buffalo again and found another one. And this time they can’t let him get away.

Koonce has given every indication so far that his play late last season wasn’t a fluke. He developed. And if the Raiders would like to keep that development in house, they need to lock him up.

Edge rushers is one of the highest paying positions in football. Maxx Crosby’s average of $23.5 million per season is still ninth in the league. The only positions with more overall value in the league than that are quarterback and wide receiver.

If the Raiders were to give Koonce a contract that averaged $10 million per season, that would land him 35th among edge rushers. Though you could understand if maybe Koonce and his agent would rather wait until after this season to see if he could get an even better contract.

Nate Hobbs

No player on this team is more deserving of a new contract than Hobbs. He’s still playing on his fifth round rookie contract and he outplayed that… well, as a rookie. He’s been the best cornerback on this team for three seasons now and asking for a contract that would put him in the top ten at his position wouldn’t be far fetched.

Something around $15 million per season would land Hobbs in the top ten at his position. And, for what it’s worth, a contract that paid him $10 million per season would land him at 18th at his position.

A deal with Hobbs should be getting done. He is part of the heart and soul of this defense and this team as a whole, he’s proven he’s worth it, and the Raiders can absolutely afford it right now.

Also see: Top 5 players Raiders should offer extensions prior to 2024 season

Raiders EDGE Malcolm Koonce poised for massive breakout season

Raiders EDGE Malcolm Koonce poised for massive breakout season

The Raiders are heavily relying on their defensive line to carry them this season. That makes a lot of sense, as it’s their best unit, and they beat teams like the Chiefs, Chargers, and Broncos by themselves in 2023.

But for the group to be even better in 2024, they’ll need some of their young players to step up. Fortunately, that shouldn’t be much of an issue. In a recent article, Larry Holder of The Athletic examined every team’s pass rush unit entering the 2024 season.

One of the players who impressed Holder the most was Malcolm Koonce, who had a higher pressure rate than Maxx Crosby in 2023. Here is a snippet of what he had to say about the fourth-year pass rusher going into the new season:

Now, I wouldn’t have guessed Malcolm Koonce to have the Raiders’ top pressure rate last season. He had nearly as many sacks in 2023 (8.0) as he had total tackles (nine) in 2022. The 2021 third-round pick will undoubtedly be a player to watch heading into a contract year.

With Christian Wilkins likely to draw more attention at defensive tackle, it should open up even more one-on-one opportunities for Koonce on the right side. And given his rapid development, he should be able to turn more of his pressures into sacks.

Koonce should be in line for a double-digit sack season in 2024 and if that is the case, expect him to earn a monster payday in 2025. That would be a great problem for the Raiders to have, especially if Tyree Wilson can take a big step in Year 2.

The Raiders have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL and the improvement of Koonce is a big reason why. Look for him to be even better and more disruptive in Year 4.

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