The Las Vegas Raiders are 6-3 and facing the 8-1 Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
This is a big rematch for these divisional rivals especially since the Raiders are the only team that has beaten the defending Super Bowl Champions this season.
Between injuries and COVID-19 (more on that later), the Raiders are struggling.
Alec Ingold, the Raiders stalwart FB suffered a rib injury in the Chargers game that sent him to the hospital.
Somehow he still managed to see limited action against Denver in Week 10.
This is the play on which Alec Ingold suffered his rib injury. You can see right at the end 295 lb Jerry Tillery trips over him and his knee lands right on Ingold’s chest. pic.twitter.com/aWtqXUKktW
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) November 9, 2020
Monday, the Raiders invited former Seattle Seahawk and Super Bowl Champion Derrick Coleman to the facility for a workout.
The #Raiders are bringing in veteran FB Derrick Coleman for a visit, per the wire.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 16, 2020
Derrick Coleman, Fullback
Coleman, 30, was a member of the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks team from 2013.
After playing at UCLA, Coleman signed as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings following the 2012 NFL Draft.
Waived by the Vikings in the 2012 preseason, he signed with the Seahawks and spent three years in Seattle through 2015.
He had limited stints in 2017 and 2018 at Atlanta and Arizona respectively but has been out of the league since.
Car Accident
Legal issues kept him out of the league from late 2015 through 2017.
On October 6, 2016 he pleaded guilty to hit-and-run and vehicular assault charges stemming from an accident on October 15, 2015 where he left the scene.
Subsequently, he served 240 hours of community service.
Hearing Loss
Coleman has been legally deaf since he was 3 years old.
He is the first legally deaf offensive player to ever play in the NFL.
His rise to the NFL inspired many and was the subject of this 2014 Super Bowl commercial for Duracell batteries.
Raiders COVID-19 Issues
Ironically, Coleman is vying for an offensive position at a time when the Raiders defense is decimated by COVID-19 leading up to the Chiefs game.
This is wild: Nearly the entire #Raiders starting defense is going on the COVID-19 list because of high-risk close contacts, but all are eligible to play in the game if they continue to test negatively, sources tell me and @TomPelissero.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 18, 2020
Currently, the Raiders have 10 players on the list; 8 were added on Wednesday.
They are:
- Corey Littleton, linebacker, has been on the list since last Thursday.
- Clelin Ferrell, defensive end, was added to the list on Tuesday.
- Lamarcus Joyner, defensive back
- Johnathan Abram, safety
- Maliek Collins, defensive tackle
- Johnathan Hankins, defensive tackle
- David Irving, defensive lineman
- Isaiah Johnson, cornerback
- Arden Key, defensive end
- Kendal Vickers, defensive tackle
The 8 players added Wednesday are considered high-risk close contacts.
If they test negative for 5 days, they could play against the Chiefs.
They are in isolation so while they can attend virtual meetings, they are not allowed in the facility for practices.
Coach Jon Gruden did not seem alarmed when asked about this situation on Wednesday.
”We practiced today and we’ll be ready for the game on Sunday. It’s what you have to do. Everybody has to adapt to a lot of things in every phase of life. We had to go through some things before. We’ll be there on Sunday and we’ll be prepared.”
The Raiders’ COVID-19 issues are not surprising.
Thus far this season, the team (including players and Coach Gruden) has been fined over $1 million and lost a 6th round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft for “brazen and repeated violations of [COVID-19] protocols.”
