Problem with foot sidelines Williams
Raiders No. 1 receiver Tyrell Williams is dealing with plantar fasciitis in his foot, a condition that has kept him off the field since Week 4 against the Colts, head coach Jon Gruden said Wednesday.
“It’s not getting much better,” Gruden said.
Williams did not practice in London leading up to the Raiders’ win over the Bears. He was a spectator for Monday’s practice following the team’s bye and did not practice Wednesday.
Losing Williams for an extended period would be a blow to an already depleted receiver group.
Williams leads Raiders receivers with 17 catches for 216 yards and four touchdowns. All other Raiders receivers this season have combined for 28 catches for 225 yards and one touchdown.
Of the six receivers on the Raiders’ initial 53man roster, three — Antonio Brown, J.J. Nelson and Ryan Grant — are no longer on the team. Dwayne Harris has missed the past three games with an ankle injury. Rookie Hunter Renfrow is the only one to have appeared in all five games.
Quarterback Derek Carr on Wednesday tried to put a positive spin on the changes at receiver.
“I wish it wasn’t the case, but I do like the challenge,” Carr said. “No one expected us in Indy or against Chicago to be able to throw the ball or do anything. And we were able to go out there and play some good football.”
The Raiders acquired Zay Jones from the Bills last week in exchange for a 2021 fifthround draft pick to fill out their receiver group. Carr said Jones came with a strong referral from former Raiders tight end Lee Smith, now in Buffalo.
“Zay’s a really good football player,” Carr said. “As soon as we traded for him, Lee Smith FaceTimed me and said, ‘You’re going to absolutely love this guy.’ ”
Receiver swap: Grant, who had just four catches for 14 yards in two games before the Raiders released him Sept. 29, signed Wednesday with the Packers, who host the Raiders this weekend.
“I think he’s a really good route runner,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said on a conference call. “And he’s got some familiarity with some of the concepts and terminology that we use from when he was in Washington with Sean McVay.”
Asked if Grant’s familiarity with the Raiders could help the Packers this week, LaFleur said that angle is “overrated.”
Not happy: Gruden, speaking for the first time since an NFL appeals officer upheld a seasonending suspension for linebacker Vontaze Burfict, made it clear that he didn’t agree with the decision.
Burfict was suspended following a helmettohelmet hit against the Colts in Week 4. Against the Bears in Week 5 the Raiders used just two linebackers: Tahir Whitehead, who played every snap on defense, and Nicholas Morrow, who played all but two.
Gruden said that won’t be an option every week for the Raiders, whose other three linebackers — Kyle Wilber, Dakota Allen and Justin Phillips — have played a total of 21 snaps this season.
“Anytime someone comes out and wants to play oldfashioned, bigboy football, you’ve got to have linebackers,” Gruden said. “Losing Burfict is big. I’m still not happy about it. Just not happy about it. We believe in player safety, I’ll say that. We coach it, we believe in it. We really stress it. Twelve games, I’m not happy about that. I’m not happy about it. But it is what it is. And we’ll get (Phillips), Dakota Allen, whoever the next man up is, we’ll get him ready to go.”
Injury update: Along with Williams, right tackle Trent Brown (calf ) and defensive end Arden Key (knee) did not practice Wednesday. Guard Denzelle Good was excused for a personal matter. Guard Gabe Jackson was limited but hopes to make his season debut Sunday returning from an Aug. 8 knee injury. Gruden said Jackson will be evaluated after Thursday’s padded practice.