Richie Incognito and Nicholas Morrow leave Raiders practice with injuries

A little over an hour into practice, at nearly the same moment, both Richie Incognito and Nicholas Morrow went down on the field. Morrow on the North field and Incognito on the South field. In both instances, it was the last snap of the session. …

A little over an hour into practice, at nearly the same moment, both Richie Incognito and Nicholas Morrow went down on the field. Morrow on the North field and Incognito on the South field. In both instances, it was the last snap of the session.

Morrow stayed down for a while, with teammates kneeling around him. They brought out a cart, just in case, but Morrow would ultimately get up and walk to the side, where he then worked with trainers.

Incognito walked off as well, though very slowly. He then made his way toward the team tent, heavily favoring his right leg and, again, moving very slowly.

Before either player could be assessed, the big fight broke out on the field during special teams sessions and practice was called off. It all happened so fast, there was little time to assess the severity of either injury.

“I think we’ll look into it, we’ll know something in the next couple of days, but I don’t have anything to report yet,” Jon Gruden said after practice.

Not that Incognito would have played in Saturday’s preseason game against the Rams, and perhaps not Morrow either, but their injuries should seal the deal on any chance they had of playing. The hope now will be that neither injury is serious enough to cause them to cost them regular season games.

Certainly it appeared serious enough to warrant close monitoring.

When Richie has missed time this training camp it has been second-year guard John Simpson who has stepped in for him. Morrow plays multiple linebacker spots, so the group would shuffle around if he can’t go. Javin White got the start in the first preseason game.

Others not practicing today due to injuries include RB Jalen Richard, WR John Brown, and LB Nick Kwiatkoski.

Defensive tackle Darius Stills returned to practice today sporting a club cast on his right hand.

Raiders coach Jon Gruden: LB Nicholas Morrow had his ‘best game as a Raider’ in win vs. Broncos

Raiders linebacker Nicholas Morrow got the start in place of LB Cory Littleton and caused havoc against Denver.

The Raiders rode the strength of their defense and its five forced turnovers in beating the Broncos, 37-12 on Sunday, moving to 6-3 on the campaign, and there’s plenty of credit to go around.

Safety Jeff Heath got the party started with the first of his two interceptions, and cornerback Nevin Lawson forced a fumble and recovered the football on the same play. Incredibly, defensive end Carl Nassib also picked off Broncos quarterback Drew Lock, as did linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski.

And though LB Nicholas Morrow didn’t notch a turnover, he was impossible to miss as he started in place of LB Cory Littleton, who is on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.  Morrow made his presence felt, most notably when he sacked Lock and forced a fumble, which Denver recovered, and on a vicious pass break up in the second half.

In total, he had five tackles, a quarterback sack, two passes defensed, two QB hits and his forced fumble. Morrow’s performance prompted coach Jon Gruden to say that it was the linebackers’s best game as a pro, though he wasn’t surprised by what he saw.

“He’s the same Nicholas Morrow he was last year. He’s a really good player,” Gruden said to reporters after the game. “At this point in his career, I think his experience in the system shows. I think his confidence in himself is showing. And I thought he cut it loose today and really had his best game as a Raider. I can’t wait to see this film.

“He’s such a great kid, coming from a real small school. Quite a transition for him, changing coaches, changing systems. I think he’s going to be a really good linebacker in this league for a while.”

Since defensive coordinator Paul Guenter’s defense has a notoriously long learning curve, it benefits the Raiders to have a backup that has soaked up the scheme for the last two-plus years, as Gruden hit on. Morrow, who was undrafted out of Greenville University, could cut it loose and rely on his instinct, resulting in perhaps his best game when the Raiders needed him to step up.

The ability to cut it loose, or lack thereof, could be part of Littleton’s problem. He’s struggled in his first year with Guenther and the Raiders. With today’s performance and the postgame praise from Gruden, playing time at LB next to Kwiatkoski is something to keep an eye on. In any event, the Raiders are lucky to have Morrow, who will look to make an impact as Las Vegas attempts to make the playoffs.

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