Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller has not practiced this week, but he will be in the lineup against the New England Patriots Sunday.
The Las Vegas Raiders have gotten out to a surprising 2-0 start this season, and a lot of their success on offense is due to their star tight end, Darren Waller. So when Waller did not practice on both Wednesday and Thursday, it sent shockwaves across Raider Nation, who are looking for their team to go East and beat the New England Patriots on Sunday.
The Patriots have long been a thorn in the Raiders side, but this year, they actually have just as good a roster from top to bottom. Both teams played in primetime this past week, with the Raiders on Monday night, so it is a short week of prep for both teams.
Not seeing Waller at practice was definitely a cause for concern, but rest easy Nation, he will be there in New England. After a 12-catch effort against the Saints, that is music to their ears.
Waller to play this Sunday in New England
In an interview with TMZ Sports, Waller assured fans that he will in fact be playing on Sunday and that his knee is fine. That is great news for both Raiders fans, and fantasy football fans, as Waller is rounding into arguably the best tight end in the NFL this season.
This week, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick spoke to how incredible a talent Waller is, and you can be sure he has been gameplanning for this matchup all hours of the day. The Raiders have to make sure Waller continues to be a huge part of what they do on offense, because when he is on, it opens up everybody else.
Being without Waller would have been terrible for the Raiders, who are looking to move to 3-0 for the first time since the 2002 NFL season. This team has defied the expectations early on, and a victory against New England would firmly plant them as a potential playoff contender in the AFC this season.