Raiders report: Teammate relieved he didn’t injure Christian Wilkins

Raiders defensive tackle Adam Butler knows the foot injury that landed star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins on injured reserve means a big opportunity for him.

He was also relieved to find out he wasn’t the cause of the injury.

Butler was told by teammate John Jenkins after Sunday’s 34-18 loss to the Broncos that a popular theory circulating on social media was that Wilkins was injured when Butler jumped on him while celebrating a sack late in the second quarter.

“It’s just simply not true,” Butler said. “I went to Christian and talked to him, and he said, ‘No, it definitely wasn’t you.’ I’m not going to speak on his injury, but I can assure you that I did not hurt Christian.”

Wilkins was placed on injured reserve after undergoing surgery for a Jones fracture in his left foot and probably will miss more than the minimum four games.

The injury appeared to occur on a second-and-38 play early in the second quarter on a swing pass to Jaleel McLaughlin. Wilkins forced McLaughlin back inside, but appeared to injure his foot on the play.

Wilkins limped off the field and missed some time before returning later in the second quarter. That’s when Wilkins recorded a sack and was dancing when Butler ran toward him and jumped on his teammate. Wilkins limped away from the celebration and played two more snaps before heading to the locker room.

That sequence led to speculation about how the injury occurred, but evidence appears to exonerate Butler, who said Wilkins had jumped on him in celebration of a sack in the previous game.

“So on Sunday, I said I’m going to make sure I don’t hurt him, which is why I went sort of over the top rather than straight up jumping on him,” Butler said. “It was just a friendly brotherhood thing where he did it to me last game, so it’s my chance to get him this game. Just messing around.

“I pretty much knew all along that I wasn’t the cause, but, yes, when he told me himself that he was dealing with this already before that play, it was a relief.”

Butler will be one of the players asked to pick up the slack beginning Sunday when the Steelers visit Allegiant Stadium.

“It is a big opportunity,” he said. “For me personally, I think I perform best when my back is against the wall, and I think all of our backs are against the wall.”

Promotions

The Raiders signed defensive tackle Matthew Butler from the practice squad to take Wilkins’ spot on the active roster.

Butler was a third-round pick of the organization in 2022 and has played in eight career games. He takes great pride knowing he has stuck with one organization and is only out-tenured by two members of the defensive line.

“To stick around for that period of time, whether it’s practice squad or active roster, is a feat on its own,” he said. “So I really do appreciate the vote of confidence and trust I’ve gotten from (coaches).”

The Raiders also added defensive tackle Zach Carter to the practice squad. A third-round pick of the Bengals in 2022, he has started 16 of the 37 games in which he has appeared.

Offensive lineman Ben Brown was signed off the Raiders’ practice squad to the Patriots’ active roster.

Injury report

The Raiders again listed 16 players on their injury report Thursday, including another nonparticipation for star defensive end Maxx Crosby. He said he’s planning to play Sunday despite a high-ankle sprain.

Linebacker Tommy Eichenberg (hamstring) was downgraded from limited to nonparticipation. Starting left tackle Kolton Miller (knee, shoulder) got in a limited session after missing Wednesday’s practice.

Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (ankle) and rookie guard Jackson Powers-Johnson (knee) missed practice again.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.