Jeanty (ankle) active vs. Patriots

The quotes read a tad bit more enthusiastically than Jeanty did while speaking to media members at his locker, but this is still good to hear. Jeanty has been dealing with an ankle injury for a long time, but the team took that injury off the weekly practice report this week. He is now listed only with the foot injury after experiencing “a flare-up of plantar fasciitis” last Friday. Jeanty is a low-end RB1 against the Bills this week.

Jeanty’s previous ankle designation was removed from the injury report and he was a full practice participant on Wednesday. His practice participation lines up with Raiders coach Klint Kubiak saying the 22-year-old running back was starting to “feel a lot better.” Though there were rumors of the Raiders resting Jeanty for a week, he is trending to play in Week 6 against the Bills.

Kubiak also shot down the idea of the Raiders resting Jeanty for a week, despite it being reported earlier today that the Raiders were considering giving him a week off to recover at some point. Jeanty has been dreadfully inefficient this year, averaging a meager 3.3 yards per carry, though the team’s subpar offensive line also deserves some of the blame. For fantasy purposes, his workload has been the big draw. He is averaging 22 touches per game through five weeks. Even if the foot and ankle injuries continue to bother him, Jeanty has to be treated as a mid-range RB2.

It was odd usage for Washington, who had at least five carries in three of four games headed into Week 5. Even Ashton Jeanty being limited with his ankle and foot injuries did nothing to bolster Washington’s involvement in the Vegas offense. In fact, Dylan Laube was the team’s clear No. 2 back behind Jeanty on Sunday. Laube had four carries and three receptions and punched in a short touchdown in the second half of the blowout loss. It raises serious questions about what Washington’s workload might look like if Jeanty misses time this season.

Most of Jeanty’s production against New England came on a 31-yard catch and run in the third quarter. Battling through foot and ankle injuries, Jeanty looked hobbled from the start and struggled to break tackles or outrun Patriots defenders to the edge. Most Raiders starters rested in the fourth quarter of a lopsided loss. Jeanty still doesn’t have a rushing touchdown on the season and hasn’t had 100 rushing yards in a game since Week 1 against the Dolphins. Until Jeanty is fully healthy he probably won’t provide much in the way of upside, including next week against a decent Buffalo run defense.

Per Rapoport, Jeanty had a flare-up of plantar fasciitis last week to go along with his ankle injury. He added that Jeanty will work out before today’s game to see how he’s feeling. If he can’t go, Mike Washington Jr. would see the bulk of the backfield touches. Washington has been an explosive complement to Jeanty this year, averaging five yards per carry on 24 attempts. He would jump to the top of the RB2 ranks if Jeanty can’t go.

Kubiak didn’t get into real specifics about the injury when asked. Mike Washington just found his way into real contingency value and is a worthwhile stash/hedge anywhere he was dropped. Jeanty did not practice Friday after a limited session (and the addition of a foot tag) on Thurdsay, so this certainly doesn’t appear to be heading in the right direction. That said, we knew Jeanty would be managing something after the preseason ankle injury and the Raiders have given out rest days on Friday quite a bit already this year. Jeanty is likely something close to truly questionable.

Jeanty has been dealing with the ankle injury throughout the week, but the foot injury was added after Thursday’s practice. Jeanty was officially listed as limited on Thursday, but the Raiders’ RB1 was absent from the media portion of Friday’s practice. We will receive final word on his Week 5 availability soon, but rookie Mike Washington could be in line for a busy day against the Patriots if Jeanty is unable to go.

Oh, dear. Jeanty was a full participant yesterday, listed only with an ankle injury. Today, he was downgraded to limited and the Raiders tacked on a foot injury. The second-year running back has played through the nagging ankle injury thus far and could play through the pain again this weekend, but this situation must be closely monitored. Backup RB Mike Washington must be rostered in all formats.

The Raiders have struggled on the ground for most of the season, and that didn’t change in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs. Washington’s biggest gain came on an 11-yard run, as he averaged less than 1.0 YPC on his other eight carries. Washington remains the top Raiders back to hold in the event of an injury to Ashton Jeanty, but he has no stand alone fantasy value at this time.