Raiders report: Bisaccia optimistic about Waller’s return
Raiders report
Schedule
All practices at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, unless noted:
Tuesday — Off
Wednesday — Practice, 11 a.m.
Thursday — Practice, 11 a.m.
Friday — Walk-through, 11 a.m.
Saturday — Off
Sunday — at Indianapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium, 10 a.m.
Quote of the day
Quarterback Derek Carr suffered a rib injury in the third quarter of Sunday’s win over the Broncos at Allegiant Stadium. He is expected to be fine.
The injury was originally believed to be a chest contusion until the rib injury was discovered Monday. According to interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, Carr told reporters he was in particular discomfort when he would cough.
It gave Bisaccia the opening for a classic dad joke.
“He got banged in the rib and he felt like he struggled to cough a little bit, so we told him not to cough,” Bisaccia said with a smirk during his weekly Monday news conference.
“He’s been cleared to practice,” Bisaccia said. “I know it came out as a chest contusion early. I think from talking to those guys today it’s a little bit more of a rib. And hopefully he’ll be better as we go. But as of right now, he’s good to go.”
Injury report
Bisaccia offered the most optimistic outlook in weeks on the status of tight end Darren Waller.
The star tight end has missed the last four games and has yet to get back on the practice field since suffering both a back injury and a reported strained IT band in his knee against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
Bisaccia indicated Waller had a good day in his rehabilitation process on Monday and expressed optimism he could take part in Wednesday’s walk-through practice. If he is able to do that, the odds of him playing on Sunday would increase.
A Thursday return would complicate things a bit more because it would give him just one full practice before trying to get back on the field in a competitive setting on Sunday.
“I think we’d love to have two to three days of practice with him so he feels good about his ability to go in and compete and we feel good about his ability to help us compete,” Bisaccia said.
Transactions
The Raiders sent six players back to the practice squad after they were activated for Sunday’s game.
Quarterback Nathan Peterman, safety Kavon Frazier, defensive tackle Damion Square, offensive guard Lestern Cotton Sr. and wide receivers Dillon Stoner and Tyron Johnson are all back on the practice squad.
Give me the ball
After his most productive game of the season, running back Josh Jacobs told reporters he got in the ear of the coaches and his teammates at halftime to say he wanted consistent carries in the second half to get in a rhythm.
Bisaccia said Monday he didn’t recall a specific conversation, more like constant reminders.
“He did say it to me on the sideline about six or seven times,” Bisaccia said.
It’s nothing new on an NFL sideline for a playmaker to lobby for more touches.
“Josh does that all the time,” Bisaccia said. “He wants to ball every play. So, every time he comes off, he wants the ball. Every time he goes on, he wants the ball. And that’s what great players do, right? They all want the football.”
What Bisaccia truly liked is what Jacobs was able to do when he did get the ball and how the offensive line responded in front of him.
“I think we had a mentality coming out of halftime,” Bisaccia said, singling out offensive coordinator Greg Olson for praise. “Greg did a great job with the plan of running the football and what he wanted to do to start the second half. And I thought I saw us play a little bit better up front.”
Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal
