Raiders lose valuable OL to injury against Saints
The Raiders lost a valuable member of their offensive line when Richie Incognito left in the first quarter of their Monday night victory over the Saints after reaggravating an Achilles tendon injury.
They can only hope it’s not a long-lasting absence.
The 37-year-old Incognito, who didn’t practice Friday or Saturday, was only able to last a quarter and a half Monday before leaving. Incognito remained on the sideline in the first half but, after saying his return was questionable, the Raiders later declared him out.
Incognito was replaced at left guard by John Simpson, the Raiders’ rookie fourthround pick out of Clemson. Simpson had some shaky moments while allowing Derek Carr to be pressured at times, but he also made some plays, including a nice block to allow Josh Jacobs to pick up a first down on a fourth-and-1 play at the end of the third quarter.
The Raiders line struggled mightily in the first half against the Saints defense, which sacked Carr three times. Carr wasn’t sacked or even hit in the Raiders’ seasonopening win against the Panthers. Then it steadied itself to allow Carr, Darren Waller and Josh Jacobs to make plays.
Incognito was a revelation after returning to football last year after some off-field troubles derailed his career. The four-time Pro Bowler earned his career-best blocking grade of 88.5 last year, according to Pro Football Focus, the best score of any NFL guard not named Marshal Yanda.
In Simpson’s first drive as a pro, the Raiders marched down the field and scored on a Derek Carr touchdown pass to Zay Jones to pull within 1714 before halftime.