The Oakland Raiders have downgraded running back Josh Jacobs to out with a shoulder injury and illness for Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Denver Broncos.
The rookie had been listed as doubtful by the Raiders on Friday for the game. Jacobs did not practice this week after missing last week’s victory at the Los Angeles Chargers. Raiders coach Jon Gruden said Thursday that Jacobs’ availability would, however, be determined by his ailing shoulder.
Jacobs, a leading candidate to be the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, has missed two of Oakland’s past three games with what he said was a fractured right shoulder. Still, he ranks eighth in the NFL this season with 1,150 rushing yards despite playing in only 13 games. He suffered the injury in Week 7 at the Green Bay Packers.
Veteran DeAndre Washington will again be in line to start for the Raiders. Washington rushed for 85 yards on a career-high 23 carries in last weekend’s win. He has 310 yards and three touchdowns this season.
For the Raiders (7-8) to gain an unlikely berth into the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 6 seed, they need to beat the Broncos and have the Indianapolis Colts beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Tennessee Titans lose to the Houston Texans, and the Pittsburgh Steelers lose to the Baltimore Ravens.
In addition, the Raiders need a victory from one of four teams — the New England Patriots (vs. Miami Dolphins), Chicago Bears (vs. Minnesota Vikings), Chargers (vs. Kansas City Chiefs) or Detroit Lions (vs. Packers) — to gain a strength-of-victory tiebreaker over the Steelers.
ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez contributed to this report.