We have to wonder if Incognito will ever play for Raiders again
On the same day that the struggling Las Vegas Raiders lost a team captain for the rest of the season, they also got discouraging injury news on a veteran offensive starter, putting his availability this season in question.
Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia said on Monday that guard Richie Incognito had a setback in his rehab from a calf injury, making his timetable for a potential return this season questionable. With eight games remaining, there is no guarantee that Incognito will be ready to play this season.
.@Raiders G Richie Incognito, who has been on IR all year with a calf, suffered a setback on his rehab.
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) November 15, 2021
Incognito, 38, was injured during a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams in August and he has been out ever since. On the day he resigned from the team last month, former Raiders’ coach Jon Gruden said the hope was that Incognito would be ready to play in Week 9 against the New York Giants. But that never materialized and now there is new doubt as to when — or if — Incognito will return.
He injured his Achilles in Week 2 of the 2020 season and missed the rest of the season. Now, Incognito is in danger of not playing for the rest of this season. Second-year player John Simpson has been playing for him.
Incognito was cut in the offseason but he was brought back on a one-year deal. It may be doubtful if the Raiders want to bring him back next year considering his age and lack of recent availability.
It’s been a tough day for injuries in Las Vegas. The team got official word that fullback and special teams captain Alec Ingold tore the ACL in his knee in a 41-14 home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. He will go on the injured reserve and miss the rest of the season.
The Raiders added fullback Sutton Smith to the practice squad and he could potentially be promoted to the 53-man roster some time this season. Smith was a sixth-round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019 (the same year the Raiders signed Ingold as an undrafted free agent). He has been in several team’s programs, but he never played in an NFL game.
We have signed FB Sutton Smith to the practice squad.
In a corresponding move, we have released WR Gary Jennings from the practice squad. pic.twitter.com/dToTRvXmAw
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 15, 2021
Backup tight end Foster Moreau was playing fullback in some packages after Ingold was hurt. The Raiders also may pare back their fullback packages.