Monday night saw the return of Josh Jacobs to the Raiders lineup. And it was a good thing too because on one snap, the team lost Peyton Barber to a toe injury. And according to Ian Rapoport it’s the dreaded turf toe, which could have him out for a bit.
#Raiders RB Peyton Barber, who has impressed filling in for Josh Jacobs, was diagnosed with mild turf toe, sources say. No fracture. He’s still seeking opinions and having tests, but sounds like a few weeks on the sidelines as of now.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 6, 2021
Jacobs being back gave the Raiders a feature back, but his injured ankle is still clearly not 100% and he was hurting during the game. That makes the Barber injury significant because he was the guy who was going to keep Jacobs from having to carry too much of the load, at least until that ankle improved.
While Jacobs was out, Barber played fairly well, including putting up a career-high 111 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries in the team’s overtime win over the Dolphins in week three. He had just signed to the team last month and as he got more and more acclimated to the offense, he figured to share more of the load. Looks like that won’t happen now.
The Raiders also have Kenyan Drake at running back, but he is used almost exclusively as a receiver out of the backfield.