The Raiders have been without running back Maurice Jones-Drew for the last two weeks as he recovers from hand surgery, but he was able to return to practice last week before the Raiders fell to the Patriots in New England.
Now that they are in “Old” England, Jones-Drew says that he feels well enough to take the next step and play against the Dolphins in Week Four. Jones-Drew admitted that the choice isn’t entirely up to him, but things are pointing in that direction and Jones-Drew is looking forward to renewing his partnership with Darren McFadden.
“Just trying to get on the field and help my man out,” Jones-Drew said, via NFL Media. “I feel we both do better if we both out there. So obviously he’s been taking the brunt of the carries and the brunt of the reps, so I want to get out there and try and give him a blow here and there and let him get his legs back underneath him so he can run.”
The Raiders are averaging just over 64 yards per game on the ground, so they can use all the help they can get in the run game. How much help Jones-Drew will actually provide has been a subject of discussion since he signed with the team this offseason and it looks like there’s a good chance we’ll get more of an idea this weekend.