Raiders running back Isaiah Crowell tore his Achilles earlier this week and the team formally ended his season on Friday by placing him on injured reserve.
In between those two developments, the Raiders re-signed veteran running back Doug Martin to join first-round pick Josh Jacobs, Jalen Richard, DeAndre Washington and Chris Warren as options in the backfield. Gruden talked up all of the backs, including the role Martin can play as Jacobs learns the ropes as a professional.
“Doug will be able to come in here and be a great mentor to Jacobs,” Gruden said, via NBCSportsBayArea.com. “He knows the system. He has produced in the system. Doug has had some real highs and some real lows in this league. He’ll be a great resource to our young back, and he can still play. We’re happy to have Doug back and disappointed for Isaiah.”
Gruden also referred to Martin as a three-down back, which, as Josh Dubow of the Associated Press points out, is a bit curious given the fact that he only played 21 snaps on third down last season. Richard had 155 snaps in that role and the presence of all the backs in Oakland means there’s going to be some experimenting to do before making any calls about who is doing what in September.