Ashton Jeanty is officially “on the mend” no more.
Jeanty has no game status and is set to play in Las Vegas’ season opener against Miami on Sunday.
Jeanty suffered an ankle injury late last month. While the injury initially seemed serious, Jeanty recovered quickly enough to be listed as a full participant for all three practice days this week.
The No. 6 overall pick of last year’s draft, Jeanty rushed for 975 yards with five touchdowns and caught 55 passes for 346 yards with five TDs as a rookie. He is expected to be a significant part of Las Vegas’ offense in 2026 under new head coach Klint Kubiak.
The only other player on Las Vegas’ injury report this week was tight end Brock Bowers, who is out after undergoing a meniscus trim earlier this week. He reportedly will be sidelined for just 1-2 weeks.
On Wednesday, a curious situation came up with the Raiders, head coach Klint Kubiak, tight end Brock Bowers, and the media.
During his press conference, Kubiak was asked directly if Bowers and edge rusher Maxx Crosby would be available to play the Dolphins to open the season.
In response, Kubiak said, “We’re expecting to have all of our guys ready for Sunday.”
But later that day, multiple reporters noted that Bowers will miss 1-2 games after undergoing a meniscus trim procedure on Tuesday. Bowers suffered the injury during training camp, and the surgery to address it was scheduled last week.
“I was optimistic earlier that Brock would be able to go — he’s not,” Kubiak said as part of his opening statement in his Friday press conference. “We’ll get him back soon.”
Given the discrepancy, that did not cut off Kubiak’s questions about Bowers.
“It all happened pretty quick, I don’t remember exactly what day,” Kubiak said on the timeline from finding out about Bowers’ injury to his procedure. “But he got it cleaned up and we’ll get him back soon.”
Kubiak added that he’s not going to talk about a timeline, when asked about the report that Bowers will be out for 1-2 weeks.
“We’ll hope to get him back as soon as possible,” Kubiak said, adding that he was optimistic the tight end would be back this week even after the procedure.
Bowers, the No. 13 overall pick of the 2024 draft, figures to be a significant part of Las Vegas’ offense when he returns. Limited to 12 games due to injury last season, Bowers caught 64 passes for 680 yards with seven touchdowns. As a rookie, he caught 112 passes for 1,194 yards with five TDs.
Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak confirmed rookie Fernando Mendoza will serve as the backup to Kirk Cousins. Kubiak would not previously say whether it would be Mendoza or Aidan O’Connell, but the team’s depth chart released earlier this week showed the No. 1 overall pick as the No. 2.
Mendoza is the first quarterback since Baker Mayfield in 2018 not to start Week 1 after being the top overall pick.
“I am encouraging him to know his reads and progressions, to know the game plan,” Kubiak said, via Sam Warren of TheAthletic.com. “What the guys take off of each other comes through osmosis. So he’s just gotta get his butt ready to roll. The people in front of them are there to produce as well. And if he learned something from their preparation, I think that’s a good thing. That’s why we have [Cousins] there. But most importantly, we have [Cousins] there to go play and go win the game.”
Mendoza won’t get many practice reps, but he has to be ready to play as he is one play away.
“That’s the life of an NFL backup,” Kubiak said. “That’s why he’s got to be the most mature guy in the room. A guy that can prepare on his own, in the darkness, in the shadows. And then when called upon, go win the game.”
Kubiak said Jackson Powers-Johnson will start at right guard ahead of Caleb Rogers, but he considers both players to be starters.
The Patriots are going to have to bounce back from their season-opening loss to the Seahawks without the help of wide receiver A.J. Brown.
Brown suffered a high-ankle sprain in his Patriots debut on Wednesday night and Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the team is going to place him on their injured reserve list. Brown will miss at least the next four games before he will be eligible to return to action for New England.
The Patriots will host the Steelers in Week 2 and then head on the road for games against the Jaguars and Bills. Week 5 will bring them back home for a game against the Raiders.
Romeo Doubs, who had a crucial drop in Seattle, will now be at the top of the receiver depth chart for the Patriots. Mack Hollins, Pop Douglas, Kyle Williams, and Efton Chism are the other wideouts on the 53-man roster.
Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty expects to play in Sunday’s season opener against the Dolphins.
Jeanty said his ankle feels “really good” and he is “super excited” to get back on the field.
The second-year player practiced fully again Thursday, his second practice back since injuring his ankle Aug. 23 in a training camp practice.
“Any time away from the game, it’s tough,” Jeanty said, via Ryan McFadden of ESPN. “But to get back out there, mainly with the guys, man, it felt good.”
The injury appeared worse than it was when it happened, as Jeanty went down while attempting to catch a low pass from Kirk Cousins. But it wasn’t, and Jeanty said he knew pretty quickly afterward that he would play against the Dolphins in Week 1.
“I knew it wasn’t anything too bad, even though I couldn’t put pressure on my foot,” Jeanty said in speaking to reporters for the first time since his injury. “I figured it wouldn’t be anything that’s too long term.”
