Rashad Jennings suffered a concussion
Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings (27) is tackled by New York Giants defensive tackle Linval Joseph (97) at MetLife Stadium. The Giants defeated the Raiders 24-20. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden made his return to the team for yesterday’s Thanksgiving game against the Dallas Cowboys as the No. 2 back behind Rashad Jennings, who had been amazing in McFadden’s absence. The truth is, Jennings played so well that he probably Wally Pipp’d McFadden for good, because McFadden has been wildly ineffective this season. Simply put, there is just no way you can trust McFadden on a week-to-week basis, as his fantasy owners have found out the hard way. Speaking of fantasy, owners who made the jump on Jennings have been immensely rewarded, whereas those who have held on to McFadden haven’t reaped any benefits.
But McFadden could resume his role as the Raiders feature back next week, because Rashad Jennings suffered a concussion in yesterday’s 31-24 loss to the Cowboys. Jennings was reportedly concussed on the Raiders final drive, so he will have to go through the league’s mandatory concussion protocol. The hope is that Jennings can pass through all the concussion tests and avoid missing next week’s game against the New York Jets.
Although it is far too early to make any real conclusions, there is a good chance that Jennings will be able to start next week against the Jets. I mean, the Raiders are on a long week, so that’s definitely going in his favor. Keep an eye out for when Jennings is cleared, as the Friday of next week will be a crucial day in determining whether or not Jennings can play.
There are far worse things that can happen to a football team than starting Darren McFadden at the running back position, but it’s clear that Jennings is playing much better than McFadden and that Run DMC can no longer be trusted. Hopefully Jennings can be healthy enough to play next week, because he has been hot lately. Even though he averaged a measly 2.1 yards per carry against Dallas, he did manage to find the end zone twice on the ground.