Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Las Vegas Raiders: 4 things we learned

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Las Vegas Raiders: 4 things we learned

This team needs Trent Brown whether you like it or not

Trent Brown has not been a very popular man with Raider Nation this season largely because he has not been on the field very much. Since signing a 4-year $66 million deal with the Raiders in 2019, Brown missed five games in his first season, and has already missed three games this season with a combination of injury and recently testing positive for COVID-19.

There were already reports that Brown was not working as hard as needed to come back from his calf injury, and there are now reports that he was not wearing his contact tracer and was not being “responsible” in adhering to team protocols. None of that has been substantiated beyond Twitter reports from beat writers but it all adds up to a frustrating mix of the highest paid player not being on the field when the team needs him most.

Brown was a massive part of the Raiders’ win against Kansas City and his absence was felt against the ferocious Tampa Bay defensive front. The Raiders were unable to run the ball and had trouble protecting Derek Carr and all of that would have presumably been easier with one of the best RTs in the game in the lineup.

Now the only thing Raiders fans can do is hope that Brown makes a swift recovery from COVID-19 and is available for the rest of the season because the carousel at his position has been one of the sore spots on the Raiders offense this season.