For the players, the hard part is over; training camp and the preseason are now in the rearview mirror. But the difficult part is just beginning for the Las Vegas Raiders' front office and coaching staff, as they must trim this roster from 89 down to 53.
That's at least 36 cuts that we're talking about, as John Spytek and Klint Kubiak could also use their No. 1 spot on the waiver wire to add a handful of other players into the fold. Not to mention, several key injuries in Las Vegas may sway things in certain directions as the team gets clarity.
In that vein, Kubiak spoke to reporters on Friday morning after the final preseason game and gave some injury updates on notable players like running back Ashton Jeanty, wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. and edge rusher Keyron Crawford, all of which shed light on the current roster situation.
Klint Kubiak's injury updates make a few things clear about Raiders' 53-man roster
Ashton Jeanty
Jeanty went down with an injury last Sunday, but fans quickly learned that he avoided disaster. Still, fans are wondering what the exact timeline is for him, and Kubiak saying earlier this week that "he's on the mend," didn't provide much clarity. Kubiak did give a bit more detail this time around.
"He's still on the mend, and we're still working to get him back. We got another week to assess how he's going to look going into this first game, but we're counting on him."
We're counting on him.
That should give Raider Nation a reason to believe that Jeanty could potentially be back for Week 1. Even if he's not, the fact that it is even a consideration most likely means that Jeanty won't be doing an IR stint, and so Las Vegas probably won't be adding another running back in the coming days.
Dont'e Thornton Jr.
Thornton Jr. has been sidelined since early August, and with every passing day that he misses, his roster hopes dwindle. Here's what Kubiak had to say about the second-year wide receiver, who missed all three preseason games.
“He's still working to come back from an injury, working really hard at it too. And that's part of football, injuries are part of football, and he's straining to get better to get back on the field.”
Kubiak didn't speak with as much optimism about Thornton Jr., and he certainly didn't say that he's "counting on him." It's fair to be a bit more pessimistic about Thornton Jr.'s injury status and question if he may be on the short-term IR to begin the season or get waived and go from there.
This only increases the likelihood more that the Raiders look externally for a fifth wide receiver to add behind Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor, Jack Bech and Malik Benson. It remains to be seen who, if anyone, in Las Vegas is currently safe.
Keyron Crawford
Crawford went down with an injury during Thursday's game against San Francisco, which was doubly disappointing because it was his best showing yet. Here's what Kubiak had to say after the contest, when he had little information.
"Obviously, Keyron [Crawford] went down, has an ankle. We'll evaluate him further."
It doesn't sound like the Raiders had much of an update, based on what Kubiak said Friday morning.
"We're still gathering information there, so got to spend some more time with medical this morning, and we'll further evaluate him."
In some ways, no news is good news. But it broke rather quickly that Jeanty's injury was nothing serious, so the fact that, after some preliminary testing last night and this morning, Crawford hasn't gotten a clean bill of health. And this changes the roster picture a bit.
If Crawford is healthy or doesn't need to go on IR, the Raiders probably have to waive Cian Slone or release Patrick Johnson, neither of which is a preferable option. If Crawford does go on IR, the silver lining would be that it simplifies things in the defensive end room, and Las Vegas keeps both for now.
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