The Raiders won their season opener with a thrilling victory over the Ravens.
Now they’ll have to travel across the country and play without their top running back.
Head coach Jon Gruden told reporters in his Friday press conference that Josh Jacobs (toe/ankle) is out for Sunday’s matchup against the Steelers. After missing the first two practices of the week, Jacobs was not spotted by reporters at Friday’s session.
While the Raiders signed Kenyan Drake in free agency ostensibly to be Jacobs’ backup, Gruden made it seem like Peyton Barber will get the bulk of the carries in Pittsburgh.
“Well, it’s an opportunity for Peyton Barber. We really like Barber. We think he’s a heck of a back,” Gruden said. Coming from Tampa, I’ve had a chance to really get behind the scenes on him and I like the way he runs, and catches, and picks up blitzes. And Kenyan will continue to play a role in our system no matter who the other back is. And we’re excited about this opportunity to see what we have.”
Las Vegas signed Barber off Washington’s practice squad earlier this month. He rushed for 258 yards for the Football Team last season. But he was Tampa Bay’s starter in 2018, rushing for 891 yards with five TDs.
While Jacobs is out, Gruden had better news on edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue. The defensive end has been dealing with a hamstring injury since Monday night’s victory over Baltimore, but Gruden said, “We expect him to go.”
Ngakoue was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday.