As the Las Vegas Raiders make their grand return to the Bay Area against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 9, they will be doing so with a fairly clean bill of health. The injury report didn't look too bad during the week, and now that game day has arrived, the ailments are not at all insurmountable.
The only outstanding question, at least on the Raiders' side, was the status of starting cornerback Darien Porter. For the 49ers, there were a handful of key players questionable on the injury report as well. The inactive lists for both Las Vegas and San Francisco gave us the answers to both of those.
QB Aidan O'Connell - emergency third QB
WR Dont'e Thornton Jr.
WR Malik Benson
DT Thomas Booker IV
SAF Dalton Johnson
IOL Bryce Cabeldue
Porter is in.
Raiders' official Week 9 inactive list vs. 49ers
With Porter not being listed on the inactive list, that means he will play for Las Vegas on Sunday. Questions about who would start in his place between Zeke Masses and Jermod McCoy no longer need answering, as Porter is sure to be with the first group opposite Eric Stokes on the first drive.
Booker IV suffered an ankle injury earlier in the week, and he was listed out on Friday, so his being on the inactive list comes as no surprise. Practice squad defensive tackle Tim Keenan III will take his place on the active roster for Week 9's contest.
In Booker IV's place, the Raiders will have Tristin McCollum in uniform for the first time since Week 3, when Treydan Stukes was inactive. He gets the nod over rookie fifth-rounder Dalton Johnson, who played in just one game this year, back in Week 4.
At wide receiver, Thornton Jr. and Benson remain inactive after the return of Jack Bech. Thornton Jr. has yet to play this season, and Benson, after playing the first seven weeks, will be inactive for the second straight Sunday now.
O'Connell has been the emergency third quarterback all season, and he will be in uniform again on Sunday, but Cabeldue will not suit up for the seventh time in nine games. Not many changes here for the Raiders, but Porter is in, and McCollum is taking Booker IV's place.
San Francisco gets reinforcements against Las Vegas in Week 9
Not only have the 49ers acquired DeForest Buckner since their last game, but they are also getting Nick Bosa, Marques Sigle and Demarcus Robinson back from injury. Those three are all pivotal players for Kyle Shanahan's team.
The flip side is that they will be without Mike Evans, Christian Kirk and Deebo Samuel at wide receiver, but San Francisco is always short-staffed, and Shanahan finds a way. There were some questions about Christian McCaffrey's status as well, but he is good to go in Week 9 against the Raiders.
All told, the 49ers will be without Evans, Samuel and Kirk, but they have Bosa, Sigle, and Robertson back, and they've added Buckner while also getting McCaffrey back at full health. Pretty good reinforcements for San Francisco.
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