RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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This week the Raiders were thrust into a situation at running back they weren't expecting. Ashton Jeanty was to be the workhorse this season going into his second year and for a while there they were confronted with the possibility they may lose him for a while.
Jeanty went down with an injury in practice and needed to be helped off the field. Results of his MRI were a relief because it was revealed to be an ankle sprain rather than a more serious knee injury. But it means Jeanty will still be sidelined for a time, perhaps into the regular season.
That means that fourth round rookie running back, Mike Washington, immediately jumps from change-of-pace back to primary back right now. A role he has, up to this point, shown he may be able to handle.
"He has done a phenomenal job of growing up really fast," head coach Klint Kubiak said of Washington. "We drafted him, you come to the NFL, there's a lot on your plate and then we throw all these new protections at you, these new fronts and blitzes and routes, and I think that he's a guy that understands that we are counting on him and he need to get up to speed quickly and he's been mature about that. And he's going to keep working."
Washington has definitely shown the vision and speed that had him drafted. You saw it especially on his 53-yard run in the preseason opener. But, as Kubiak notes, being the lead back is about a lot more than that. Jeanty has a year under his belt at the NFL level after being a true workhorse back at Boise State. Washington is getting thrown into the fire now because he's the next man up.
After that, someone else will have to fill the complementary role Washington was in prior to Jeanty's injury. At least until Jeanty returns. A role for which the Raiders a couple contenders.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders rookie RB 'growing up really fast' in Ashton Jeanty absence
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