Who should get more and less playing time for the Oakland Raiders
By Matt Holder
Running Back
Fewer Reps: Josh Jacobs
The rookie has put together a phenomenal year that will likely end with some hardware during the NFL’s award ceremony. Jacobs has been the focal point of the offense and is a building block for the future. Thinking about the upcoming seasons is exactly why the organization should give him some time off.
During Week seven, Jacobs suffered an injury which was later revealed as a shoulder fracture that he has played through and forced him to miss the Titans game. This type of injury only heals with rest and can get significantly worse if the team isn’t careful. Ultimately, it’s not worth rolling the Alabama product out there and risking further damage to his shoulder.
This week, it was already announced that Jacobs would not play in Week 16 against the Los Angeles Chargers, which may be a good thing at this point. There is no reason to risk further injury to the young running back, who has likely wrapped up the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, and has dominated despite having a broken shoulder for months.
More Reps: DeAndre Washington
With the emergence of Jacobs, Washington hasn’t seen the field fairly often this season. However, the former fifth-round pick has the most yards from scrimmage and yards per touch since his rookie year with 441 and 4.7. He has been fairly reliable when called upon this season and could be a decent complementary back down the road.
Mayock and Gruden spent a good part of the year looking for a number two back behind Jacobs and ultimately settled for Rod Smith, who only played on special teams last week. At this point, it’s worth seeing what Washington can do with a bigger workload and who knows, maybe the Raiders don’t need to bring in an outside hire for their season-long search.