Friday wasn’t just the last injury report of this week, it was the last Raiders injury report of the season. At the right tackle, Trent Brown is officially OUT for the Raiders with a knee injury he lost to the Dolphins in the last few weeks. Jon Gruden said he was disappointed that Brown would not be available and that he missed so many games this season.
Also suffered an injury in that match was left guard Denzelle Good, who is questionable for the match along with DT Maurice Hurst and CB Lamarcus Joyner.
Starting in Brown’s place will be Sam Young with Brandon Parker as the swing tackle. And if Young’s track record this season is any indication, Parker needs to make sure he’s ready to come in.
Jon Gruden also sounded like he thought that rookie John Simpson would get the start at the left guard instead of Good.
“Well, this is undoubtedly a big evaluation for John,” Gruden said of his rookie guard in the fourth round. “It’s not going to make or break him, but we love Simpson. He came off the bench and played well against New Orleans. He played well in spurts for us. He has had great mentors. For him to walk around with Jason Witten and Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson and Denzelle Good, Incognito. He’s had a real, I think, great experience and I think it followed him quickly. Hopefully you’ll see a better version of Simpson on Sunday than you used to, but we really like him. “