Oakland Raiders: Tyrell Williams and Clelin Ferrell miss practice Friday
By Brad Weiss
The Oakland Raiders have a tough road ahead of them on Sunday, and they could be without two key pieces against a strong Chicago Bears team.
The Oakland Raiders will take on one of the better defenses in all of football on Sunday, and they could be without their touchdown maker at wide receiver. Since signing on with the Raiders in the offseason, Tyrell Williams has caught a touchdown in all four regular season games, but that streak could come to an end on Sunday.
Williams once again missed practice on Friday according to Vic Tafur of the Athletic, and it is a real uncertainty whether or not he will be able to go against the Bears. He is dealing with a foot injury, and as a wide receiver, being healthy in that area is crucial to the job.
In addition to Williams, the Raiders could also be without rookie defensive end Clelin Ferrell, who is still suffering from a concussion. Like Williams, Ferrell has not practiced at all this week, and will likely be inactive for the Bears game this Sunday.
In Ferrell’s place, guys like Arden Key, Josh Mauro, Maxx Crosby, and Benson Mayowa will have to pick up the slack. Last week, the Raiders had Mayowa inactive despite the fact he leads the team with 3.5 sacks, so that is another name to keep an eye on when the inactive list comes out on Sunday morning.
Playing across the pond is hard enough, but to do it without two key players will make the already-underdog Raiders even more short-handed. Chicago has their share of issues as well, including at quarterback, where Chase Daniels is expected to start in place of Mitchell Trubisky, who is dealing with a shoulder injury.
The big storyline for this game is the fact that the Raiders will be playing their former captain, as the team traded away Khalil Mack to the Bears prior to the 2018 NFL season. Still firmly in his prime, Mack is the best defensive player in all of football, and you can believe he would like nothing more than to get to his old buddy, Derek Carr, at least a few times this weekend.
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Not being able to practice on Friday is worrisome for both players, and while the talk had been that Williams could go, Ferrell is likely out with a concussion. If Williams is not able to play, Trevor Davis will have to step up big time, as will Keelan Doss, J.J. Nelson, and the talented group they have at tight end in Darren Waller and Foster Moreau.