Raiders report: Star tight end to miss Sunday’s game

Raiders report

Schedule

All practices at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, unless noted:

Saturday — Off

Sunday — at Kansas City Chiefs, Arrowhead Stadium, 10 a.m.

Quote of the day

It was warmer in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday than in Las Vegas, a rarity in December.

The forecast calls for sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-50s with a moderate breeze for Sunday’s game.

That’s a pretty good break in a road game the Raiders almost certainly had circled as a weather disaster.

“We’re hearing we’re going to have a sunny day with just a little bit of breeze, and if we can go to Kansas City and it’s not snowing or minus 34 degrees, we’re stealing a little bit in the month of December,” interim coach Rich Bisaccia said. “I spent a lot of time out there in the Dakotas and Kansas and all that playing ball. We’re hoping to have a great day out there.”

The Raiders might not get as fortunate next week with a visit to Cleveland and the unpredictable weather on the shores of Lake Erie.

That’s why the chilly, breezy morning in Henderson on Friday might have been beneficial for the team at practice.

“The good thing for us today is there was a little chill in the air and a little breeze out there, which is good for A.J. (Cole) and Daniel (Carlson) to punt and kick in this wind today and good for Derek (Carr) and Marcus (Mariota) to throw the ball in the wind,” Bisaccia said. “It’s also good for our defensive backs to pay attention to how the ball moves in that.”

Injury report

Tight end Darren Waller was ruled out for Sunday, the second consecutive game he will miss with knee and back issues that forced him to miss the second half of a win over the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day.

Bisaccia declined to offer a guarantee that Waller would be ready to play at Cleveland. He wanted to get a clearer picture from team doctors.

“I know he’s progressed this week,” Bisaccia said. “It was a drastic progression after the very first day, and now he’s kind of gone from one pool to the other pool. We’ll try to work our way to hopefully get him on the grass here in the next few days, but hopefully I’ll have a better answer for you early next week.”

Defensive end Carl Nassib (knee) and linebacker Patrick Onwuasor (hamstring) also will miss Sunday’s game. Linebacker Denzel Perryman is doubtful with an ankle injury.

Defensive tackle Darius Philon and cornerback Trayvon Mullen remain on injured reserve, but both players could be activated before Sunday’s game.

Incognito unlikely to return

Projected starting left guard Richie Incognito has missed the entire season with a calf injury and doesn’t appear close to a return from injured reserve.

Bisaccia all but ruled Incognito out for the remainder of the season.

“I’d say it’s unlikely (he plays again this season) at this particular time because of the multiple setbacks he’s had,” Bisaccia said. “But I’d hate to rule Richie out at this point in his career and this point where we’re at. Hopefully we have a lot of football left to play.”

Mourning Thomas

The Raiders were mourning the death of former NFL receiver Demaryius Thomas along with the rest of the football world Friday. The 33-year-old was found dead Thursday at his Georgia home.

“It’s really sad,” Bisaccia said. “We talked about it this morning in the team meeting. We have guys in there that played against him and guys that know him. Our guys had some emotions about it.”

Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal