Alex Leatherwood saw just under half the Raiders’ snaps on offense Sunday (31) before he left the game and was replaced by reserve swing tackle Brandon Parker. It was called an oblique injury at the time. In case you’re wondering, those muscles are on the belly and around the sides of the abdomen.
Monday, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden gave somewhat of an update on the status of Leatherwood’s injury.
“We’re going to call it a back strain,” Gruden said. “So, he’s being evaluated as we speak and we’ll list him as questionable until we get further information. But we need our right tackle for sure.”
Leatherwood was the team’s selection at 17 overall in this year’s draft out of Alabama. He has started at right tackle the first two games, but his third start is in jeopardy.
Parker ended up seeing the majority of the snaps (53%) and seemed to play well. While Leatherwood struggled with penalties and gave up a strip-sack on Derek Carr early in the game. It’s certainly possible those performances also play a part in how crucial it is that Leatherwood make the start in week three when the team faces the Dolphins.
