Aug 15, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Maurice Jones-Drew (21) carries the ball against the Detroit Lions at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Maurice Jones-Drew had a forgettable regular season debut with his new team as the native of the Oakland/Bay Area failed to make much of an impact during the Raiders 19-14 loss to the New York Jets in which MJD didn’t even break the 20 yard mark in what was a frustrating day for the Oakland running game. Even worse, MJD suffered a broken hand in which he required a procedure to repair this week and is now day-to-day after missing Wednesday’s practice.
Fallon Smith of CSN Bay Area reported that a source confirmed MJD’s hand injury along with the procedure he underwent to fix it on Wednesday, something that head coach Dennis Allen also addressed following Raiders practice.
From CSN Bay Area:
"The Raiders’ two-headed monster at running back didn’t make it through Game 1 before suffering its first set-back.Maurice Jones-Drew broke his hand in Sunday’s 19-14 loss to the Jets and underwent a procedure to repair the injury, a source told Comcast SportsNet’s Fallon Smith.“He’s day-to-day,” head coach Dennis Allen said on Wednesday. “So we’ll see whenever he’s available and ready to go.The nine-year veteran was not at practice on Wednesday, but Jones-Drew isn’t expected to miss much time — if any — according to a source with knowledge of the situation.“It’s next-man-up philosophy,” Allen said. “That happens in football. We’ll see where we’re at — when and if he’s able to practice — and we’ll kind of go from there.”"
MJD’s injury puts his status for his long awaited home debut in question as the Raiders free agency acquisition may not be able to play on Sunday in what was supposed to be his homecoming after coming back to the Oakland area following his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars who drafted him out of college. Rookie Latavius Murray, who received zero carries in his rookie debut, will be expected to step up in Jones-Drew’s absence should the broken hand keep him out of game action this weekend if the hand injury does not progress.