Josh Jacobs questionable for Raiders vs. Texans
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Raiders running back Josh Jacobs is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Texans after missing the entire week of practice with a shoulder injury.
Jacobs exited the field as the media window opened for the Raiders’ stretching period on Friday, indicating he was available for the team’s walk-through. Raiders coach Jon Gruden said after practice he’s unsure of Jacobs’ availability.
“I don’t know,” Gruden said. “We’re listing him as questionable. We expect him to play, but we’ll have to see how it goes.”
Jacobs said Thursday he still might play, even if he didn’t get practice time during the week. That now would have to be the case.
Jacobs leads all rookies with 554 yards rushing, amassing 92.3 yards per game on 18.2 carries per game. He’s also recorded nine receptions for 87 yards. He’s been the best player not named Darren Waller on the Raiders offense, which is predicated on the run game.
If there’s any question about Jacobs, it’s how he’ll hold up over the course of a 16-game season. He took 251 carries in his Alabama career — 120 in his junior season of 2018. He’s currently on pace for 291 in his first year as a pro.
Jacobs said that he’s not sure yet if he’s proving he can handle being a bell-cow back.
“I guess we’ll have to see when the season’s over, we’ll see how my body feels. But I feel alright,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs claims any injury concern he’s gone through has been self-inflicted. Jacobs said he injured his shoulder on the Raiders’ first play from scrimmage, when he ran over Packers safety Adrian Amos on a nine-yard run.
“I thought it was a stinger,” Jacobs said. “It was just a funky way I hit him. I literally hit him with nothing but my shoulder. So it was like, I didn’t have a lot of stability behind it. I just did it to myself, honestly.”
But that’s not going to change the way Jacobs approaches running the ball.
“Oh, I’m definitely going to do it again,” he said. “Definitely.”
If Jacobs is unable to play, Gruden said the Raiders would go with Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington at running back.
Washington has taken 29 carrels for 103 yards with a touchdown, plus eight receptions for 65 yards in 2019. Richard has 13 carries for 54 yards, plus nine catches for 40 yards.
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Contact Myles Simmons at msimmons@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @MylesASimmons on Twitter.
