Trent Brown absence a brutal blow for Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders RT Trent Brown has been placed on the COVID-19 reserve list and will miss the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a brutal blow for the offense.
The Las Vegas Raiders announced today that they have placed right tackle Trent Brown on the reserve/COVID-19 list and that he will as a result miss the game on Sunday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This news comes just as Brown was beginning to get fully healthy from a calf injury that caused him to miss nearly four games this season.
Brown is one of the lynchpins of the Raiders’ offensive line and was one of the key figures in their big victory against the Kansas City Chiefs. His absence is particularly difficult this week considering the Raiders will be facing one of the best pass rushers and one of the best pass rushing units in Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers are currently second in the NFL in sacks with 22 in six games, ninth in QB hurries, seventh in QB knockdowns, and third in overall pressures. They pressure the QB on 28.3% of dropbacks which is good enough for third in the league.
Tampa does so with one of the highest blitz percentages in the league at 41.4% but they also have a fearsome group of defensive lineman that can rush the QB all on their own. The Bucs also have one of the better pass defenses in the NFL, giving up less than 220 yards per game through the air, and much of that has to do with their pass rush.
In terms of sacks, Jason Pierre-Paul is the standout performer so far with 5.5 so far but last year’s leader Shaquil Barrett and veteran DT Ndamukong Sug are not far behind with 3 each. They have 4 other players with 2 sacks each including 2 defensive backs which further highlights defensive coordinator Todd Bowles’ affinity for blitzes.
This was already going to be a tough task for the Raiders offensive line missing just one Pro Bowl offensive lineman in Richie Incognito but it has become all the more difficult with Trent Brown out as well. His replacement Sam Young has started just 22 games in his career and has played just over 80 snaps for the Raiders this year but has graded at 90.1 per PFF.
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No matter how well Young has played he is still nowhere near the player Trent Brown is when healthy and this will place even more pressure on Derek Carr to get rid of the ball quickly. He is more than capable of doing so but will also have to be at his best to make it through this matchup unscathed.