Injury Report: Oakland Raiders vs. Indianapolis Colts
By Gagan Aujla
An updated injury report for the Oakland Raiders as well as the Indianapolis Colts ahead of their Week 16 matchup.
In Week 16, on Christmas Eve, the Oakland Raiders will host the Indianapolis Colts for their home finale.
Coming off of a Week 15 victory down in San Diego aka Oakland South, the Raiders were fortunately able to come out of the game with relatively good health. In addition to no new injured players, the Raiders will be getting a key piece back from injury that could change the outlook of the entire defense.
Raiders Injury Report:
Shilique Calhoun – Limited (knee)
Derek Carr – Full (finger)
Amari Cooper – Limited (shoulder)
Michael Crabtree – Limited (finger)
Karl Joseph – Did not participate (toe)
Stacy McGee – Did not participate (ankle)
Kelechi Osemele – Limited (knee)
Perry Riley Jr – Limited (hamstring)
Malcolm Smith – Limited (hamstring)
The Raiders have gotten somewhat healthier since last week, with the return of Shilique Calhoun to practice, who will provide some much needed depth for the OLB/DEs if he is able to play on Saturday
However, Oakland is still without Karl Joseph and Stacy McGee — neither of which practiced on Thursday. Although Kelechi Osemele did sit out Tuesday’s light practice due to a knee issue, he is expected to be a participant during practice throughout the week and will most likely play against Indianapolis
The big elephant in the room is someone who is not listed on the injury report, and that is Mario Edwards Jr. All of Raider Nation has been waiting anxiously for Edwards’ return since he injured his hip in the first week of the preseason.
Getting back Edwards could prove to be huge, but that is if we get the 2015 version of Edwards. Realistically, you cannot expect Edwards to come in right away and put up All-Pro numbers. The guy has not been in any actual football activity in over four months.
Nonetheless, putting Edwards in the defensive line rotation will help the edge rushers immensely, and it could not be coming at a better time considering the Raiders are on the brink of the playoffs and have their sites set on a 1st round bye.
Although Edwards will have fresh legs, you can expect him to be on a snap count for the game and will probably not get extensive playing time until the playoffs, which could be as early as January 7th or possibly a week later if the Raiders are able to clinch a 1st round bye.
Colts Injury Report:
Mike Adams – Rest (Full)
Chris Carter – Shoulder (Did not participate)
Vontae Davis – Rest (Full)
Frank Gore – Rest (Full)
Robert Mathis – Rest (Full)
Andrew Luck – Shoulder/Thumb (Full)
Rashaan Melvin – Knee (Full)
Donte Moncrief – Hamstring (Full)
Joe Reitz – Back (Full)
Denzelle Good – Concussion (Full)
Erik Walden – Rest (Did not participate)
It appears that the Colts will have a healthy slate of players when heading to Oakland. The only player that is in danger of missing Saturday’s game is linebacker Chris Carter.
Although Andrew Luck has been banged up for the majority of the season, you can certainly expect him to be a handful for the Raiders defense.
It also does not help that one of Luck’s favorite weapons, Donte Moncrief, is expected to be good to go. Moncrief has scored a touchdowns in five of his last seven games. The Raiders have had trouble covering smaller, speedy receivers as well as tight ends for the better part of the season, so brace yourselves for T.Y. Hilton, Jack Doyle and Dwayne Allen to have productive days.
In addition to the Colts being healthier than the Raiders heading into this game, they have won their last four road games, so this is another team the Raiders should not take lightly.
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