Whatever the reasons, with two lower-body injuries and a Las Vegas Raiders offensive line that still can't run block looking like pretty good ones, Ashton Jeanty is not getting it done on the ground this season. Resting him to get healthy is not on the table, so the results have deteriorated in-kind.
Week 8 against the New York Jets brought a shift; welcome, necessary or otherwise. Rookie Mike Washington Jr. had 25 carries to Jeanty's two, while Jeanty clearly operated as the passing-down back, with three receptions for 64 yards.
Of course, the division of snaps also favored Washington Jr., 38-25. While it was hard to believe in the moment, head coach Klink Kubiak denied that Jeanty was punished for his comments about the Jets' run defense during the week leading up to the game.
And while it may seem like it's over for Jeanty, we are far from that point.
Klint Kubiak makes it clear it's not anywhere near over for Ashton Jeanty, despite report
Heading into Week 9, with that two-carry outing for Jeanty still pretty fresh on everyone's minds, ESPN's Dan Graziano had some revealing insight.
"The Raiders leaned into rookie running back Mike Washington Jr. over 2025 No. 6 pick Ashton Jeanty in Sunday's victory over the Jets. Jeanty hasn't played well while Washington has, and the Raiders hope it serves as a wake-up call. If it doesn't, they're content to distribute the carries in Washington's favor moving forward, as he offers a more explosive element in the run game right now."
Per Graziano, the Raiders are apparently setting aside Jeanty's preseason ankle injury as an ongoing factor in his struggles.
"Earlier this year, the Raiders believed it was a preseason ankle injury that was slowing down Jeanty, and in truth that may have been part of the problem. But he has been healthy enough to play and fully practice every week, so they're at a point where they want to see him play better. Sunday's move shows how much influence first-year coach Klint Kubiak already has, since he wasn't there when they drafted Jeanty and is playing the rookie ahead of a star who was drafted to be a face of the franchise just last year."
After the Jets game. Jeanty said he was told beforehand that he would see less work in favor of Washington Jr. He is surely aware of how he has not been getting it done in the run game, and there are no excuses to be made.
It's also not like Washington did a lot better in the lead-back role, with a 3.3 yards-per-carry average that gets even worse when you take away a 15-yard run against New York. To be fair, though, the Raiders can't block in short-yardage situations, as he netted zero yards on six such attempts.
The carry split could easily be 25-2 in favor of Jeanty in Week 9 against the San Francisco 49ers, and no one would bat an eye. On Wednesday, Kubiak made it clear that he still believes Jeanty can be a bell cow back in the NFL.
"Ashton's a young player and has a really bright future ahead", Kubiak said, via ESPN's Ryan McFadden. "Glad we have him and all these young players on our roster that are continuing to grow. And it's our job as coaches to develop them.”
Kubiak has already proven he'll take liberties with offering the full truth about some things, and in line with that, he has already become a master of say-nothing coach-speak in a way that'd make his father proud.
It's also not like Kubiak is going to bail on Jeanty eight games into coaching him, though, which is still just a season-plus into the second-year man's career. Maybe a role adjustment is all that is needed for Jeanty, or hitting the reset button a bit, like in Week 8.
A one-game "warning" may or may not have really been warranted, when taking everything into account, but it's time to move on, and Jeanty's career trajectory with the Raiders should be unaffected by it.
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