RAIDERS PLACE TE DARREN WALLER & WR HUNTER RENFROW ON INJURED RESERVE
Las Vegas Raiders Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller (hamstring) and Pro Bowl wide receiver Hunter Renfrow (oblique) are slated to be out for at least four weeks after the team placed both players on injured reserve on Thursday.
Waller and Renfrow will both miss at least four games starting with Sunday’s home game against the Colts and will not be eligible to return until week 14’s, December 8, away matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
Waller has been struggling with a hamstring injury all regular season and has not played since week 5’s 30-29 Monday night loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow has had injuries to his ribs and hamstring and both players were listed as limited participants in Wednesday’s practice. The Las Vegas Raiders believe that placing Waller on injured reserve was the only option for his hamstring to heal.
After missing six games last year, 2022 is going even worse for Waller as he’s only registered 16 catches for 175 yards and one touchdown this season, compared to 1,100-plus receiving yards in each of his 2019 and 2020 campaigns. The former Georgia Tech tight end has been dealing with injuries in the past two years and only put up 55 catches for 665 yards and 2 touchdowns in 11 games in 2021.
Waller’s hamstring injury this year is a disappointment for both the player and the organization. The Las Vegas Raiders recently signed the 30-year-old offensive weapon to a three-year, $51 million contract extension in September, making him the highest-paid tight end in the league with an average pay of $27 million a year. The 2020 Pro Bowler is now tied to Las Vegas for the next five years having signed a four-year, $29.8 million extension with the team back in 2019.
Frustrated by the injury, Waller said this week: “It’s not like I’m doing anything to keep myself off the field willingly. I’m doing everything I can. It just may not be happening in the timetable that I’d like for that to happen.”
25-year-old backup tight end Foster Moreau has taken the reins as the first-string tight end ever since Waller was injured while the team has also rotated in former Chicago Bears tight end Jesper Horsted. The two have been underwhelming in the slot and haven’t come close to Waller’s production, having registered a total of only 20 catches for 196 receiving yards and no scores between them.
The Raiders’ poor production at tight end is a massive worry, especially since the team has now lost 2021 Pro Bowl wide receiver, Hunter Renfrow. Renfrow’s visit to the injured reserve list means Derek Carr will have to rely heavily on All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams in the passing game as the team is limited at wide receiver to Mack Hollins, Keelan Cole, and DJ Turner. With Waller and Renfrow now out for at least four weeks, the Raiders will now have had their Big Quintet – Josh Jacobs, Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, and Darren Waller – on the field together for a grand total of 43 snaps.
The Raiders added reinforcements upon Waller’s extended absence by signing 28-year-old Jacob Hollister off the Vikings’ practice squad. The team is currently 2-6 and is last in the AFC West having done nothing but disappoint in 2022. The Raiders have blown leads of 17 or more points in three of its six losses this season including Sunday’s 27-20 loss to the Jaguars in Jacksonville where they jumped out to a 17-0 start before mustering just three more points. The team’s offensive production has been inconsistent so far this year and that hasn’t been helped by the loss of both Waller and Renfrow.
The Las Vegas Raiders now face the Indianapolis Colts who boast a fifth-ranked defense and the sixth-best defense against the pass in week 10.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
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