The Raiders haven’t said who’s starting at quarterback in the season opener this weekend and they may also need to find themselves a left tackle.
Steve Corkran of the Bay Area News Group reports that coach Dennis Allen said that rookie Menelik Watson tweaked his knee at Wednesday’s practice. Watson, a second-round pick in April, was installed at left tackle after never playing there in college in the wake of Jared Veldheer’s injury and Alex Barron’s inability to improve on his poor past performances. It’s the second injury Watson has dealt with since the start of camp as he also battled a calf injury that flared up after Watson started camp on the non-football injury list.
The Raiders don’t have too many options in the event Watson isn’t able to play against the Colts. The recently signed Tony Pashos and starting right tackle Khalif Barnes are the other tackles currently on the roster and neither one is an ideal choice to play on the blind side of either Terrelle Pryor or Matt Flynn. Barnes would likely move to the left side with Pashos on the right should the Raiders have to shuffle things up.
Barron hasn’t signed anywhere else since being cut, should the Raiders have interest in bringing him back, and the Raiders haven’t placed Veldheer on injured reserve with the designation to return, so there’s a way to open up a roster spot if they need one.