ALAMEDA – Josh Jacobs developed a rehab routine after fracturing his shoulder back in Week 7, giving the ailing joint just enough rest early in the week to practice a smidge late and play the following Sunday.
The Raiders running back would take a painkilling injection before the game, power through another excellent performance and then start the cycle over again.
He planned to carry through the entire season like that, but rehab timing was atypical last week heading into the Titans game.
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“Normally, it would take until Thursday until it felt all right and I could move,” Jacobs said. “Last time, it took the whole week.”
Jacobs still took the needle and begged to play, but Raiders trainers shut him down. They sent him in for an MRI that showed no further damage and hoped extra rest would do him go.
It has to this point. Jacobs was limited throughout the practice week and is formally questionable to play Sunday’s Oakland Coliseum, though the first-round draft pick plans to play.
“I don’t know how much he’ll play. I don’t know 100 percent if he’ll play,” head coach Jon Gruden said. “But he doesn’t look pretty good.”
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Jacobs wants to finish the season strong personally and as a team, working through a fractured shoulder that needs time to rest.
“I do know that I won’t need to have surgery on it, so that’s a positive note,” Jacobs said. “But, after the season I’ll have to sit and rest for a month and a half to let it heal.”
The Alabama product feels blessed that’s the only prescription, and he has been told it can’t get any worse by playing through it. Sunday would mark his first time playing since he announced on Snapchat that he fractured his shoulder way back against Green Bay. Teams generally don’t love such disclosure, especially with opponents always looking for a weakness.
“I don’t really care, honestly,” Jacobs said. “Some people felt like that would put a target on my back. I feel like there’s a target on my back every week. It is what it is.”
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Jacobs will keep plugging away if he’d cleared to play as expected, and he’ll run with the same physical style that made him a frontrunner to win offensive rookie of the year.
“I want to finish off strong,” Jacobs said. “Regardless of the record, I want to come in and implement the right things to get this win this week. I want to finish on a high note, once that will carry with us as we start the next year heading into the offseason.”