Even with Richie Incognito returning this season for the Raiders, it was basically assumed that this season would be his last. He’ll be 38 in July and is coming off a second consecutive season that was cut short by injury. The veteran guard has other plans.
“It’s one of those things where I didn’t want to go out with an injury,” Incognito said following Wednesday’s OTA practice. “I’ve had such a long career and I wanted to come back, kick (expletive) and play another couple of years for the Raiders.”
His 2020 season ended after two starts and the injury was feared to be serious. But when it was discovered that injury was merely a bone fragment that needed to be cleared, Incognito’s outlook changed.
“The injury was frustrating,” said Incognito. “But I knew from the start I was coming back. It was kind of up in the air exactly what I was dealing with, but once I went and had surgery and it wasn’t as major as we thought, I knew I was going to just grind and rehab and come back stronger. I had surgery in November and since November I’ve been locked in the gym just running, conditioning, lifting.”
By the time the start of the new league year rolled around, Incognito was released and re-signed in order to bring down his cap number. He is still locked in as the team’s starting left guard, even while everyone to his right on the line was traded away.
Whether Incognito is able to receive a new contract after this season, as he seems to hope, will depend on how he holds up this season. Not only in terms of how he is able to perform on the field, but whether he is able to stay on it.
