Sunday for the Oakland Raiders and their fans went from bad to worse. They were handed a crushing defeat by the Cincinnati Bengals and to make matters worse, they may lose a pair of safeties and their staring quarterback due to injury.
Derek Carr suffered a hand injury that could keep him out of action in their week 2 matchup against the stout Baltimore Ravens defense but their real concern is in the secondary.
They lost both starting safeties, Charles Woodson and Nate Allen, due to injury and two familiar faces will be coming in to fill in the void.
Following from Bill Williamson of ESPN.com.
Allen: The free-agent pickup from Philadelphia left the game in the first quarter after Oakland linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong collided into him. The Raiders feared he tore his ACL, but Monday Oakland coach Jack Del Rio said the team is hopeful Allen could be back later this season. Later, NFL Media reported that Allen has a torn MCL in his knee and he will be back in several weeks. Allen could potentially be out about half the season or perhaps a bit less. He could be a candidate for the injured reserve with a designation to return.
Woodson: ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported that he has a dislocated shoulder. There is no timetable for his return, but Woodson predictably is trying to make his time away as short as possible. Woodson, who will turn 39 next month, has not missed a game since returning to the Raiders in 2013.
Larry Asante: The career backup took over for Allen on Sunday. The journeyman has played in 24 games since entering the NFL in 2010 and has just two starts. He is now in line to start.
Taylor Mays: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Raiders will sign Mays and he will start Sunday at home against Baltimore. Mays was with the Raiders for about two weeks before being cut at the 53-man deadline. He has been cut by the Lions and the Raiders this year, and has had just four starts since 2010. Now, he and Asante are in line to start together with Woodson and Allen hurt.
Nate Allen was just placed on the injured reserve, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
The #Raiders have placed S Nate Allen on Injured Reserve
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 15, 2015
The Raiders bad luck is almost too odd at this point. If they are without both Woodson and Allen for an extended period of time, there might be some serious passing yards getting put up against Oakland’s defense.
