Raiders’ offensive line takes another hit as Incognito is out
ALAMEDA >> With left guard Richie Incognito listed as out with an ankle injury, the Raiders will start their eighth different combination of offensive linemen Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Incognito, injured on the final play of last week’s 20-16 loss to Jacksonville, didn’t practice at all this week. Named a Pro Bowl alternate at left guard, Incognito had made 12 consecutive starts at left guard since coming off a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Also out, as expected, are running back Josh Jacobs (shoulder) and linebacker Marquel Lee (toe).
Denzelle Good, who has started three times on the right side this season, will make his fourth start this season and first since Oct. 6 against the Chicago Bears as Incognito’s replacement. Coach Jon Gruden said Friday the Raiders would likely call up a player from the practice squad to be the backup at both guard spots, with Lester Cotton Sr. and Kyle Kalis the candidates.
The Raiders’ line play has improved dramatically overall from a year ago despite the fact that left tackle Kolton Miller is the only player to make every start. Incognito opened on suspension, center Rodney Hudson missed one game with an ankle injury, Gabe Jackson missed the first five games with a knee injury, and Trent Brown missed one game with an ankle injury and two more with a pectoral tear before being placed on injured reserve.
Line coach Tom Cable has been mixing and matching all season with reserves such as Jordan Devey (who went on injured reserve), Andre James, Good, David Sharpe and
Brandon Parker stepping into starting roles when necessary.
“Coach Cable doesn’t expect anything less out of anybody when they step in,” Good said. “Me filling in for Richie, me filling in for Gabe, Andre filling in for Rodney, the expectation level doesn’t go down. As deep as this line is, I feel we’ve got plenty of guys we can plug in if someone goes down or something goes wrong.”
Good (6-foot-5, 340 pounds) joined the Raiders during the 2018 season after being released by the Indianapolis Colts. He is a veteran of 44 games with 26 starts and believes watching Incognito and Jackson closely while staying prepared as a reserve has helped his overall game.
“Richie has been a good veteran presence, a good leader,” Good said. “He’s shown me a lot of things to improve my game. I can watch him on film and kind of copycat him because he’s been doing it at a high level for so long and I want to do the same thing. I kind of mimic his game or some parts of Gabe’s game just to improve my own.”
Attrition is a normal part of NFL life, but the physical demands of the sport have hit the Raiders particularly hard.
“We’ve lost three linebackers pretty much for the whole year, two safeties, our running back corps took a lot of hits, tight end, offensive line, and we lost our punt returner on special teams,” Gruden said. “It’s been pretty tough but it’s been a great opportunity for other guys to get a chance. In the long run, I think it will help our team.”
• Rod Smith, the five-year veteran running back signed on Dec. 10 when Jacobs’ shoulder injury worsened, could find himself with a role carrying the ball as well as on special teams against the Chargers.