ALAMEDA, Calif. — Oakland Raiders right tackle Trent Brown, named to his first Pro Bowl on Tuesday night, is headed to season-ending injured reserve with the pectoral injury that kept him out of the Raiders’ past two games, coach Jon Gruden said Wednesday.
Gruden also said that rookie running back Josh Jacobs, who has rushed for 1,150 yards and seven touchdowns and has missed only one game since suffering a fractured right shoulder in Week 7, would not play Sunday at the Los Angeles Chargers, though Gruden was “holding out hope” Jacobs could play in the season finale at the Denver Broncos on Dec. 29.
“It’s been tough on him since the Green Bay game, obviously,” Gruden said. “We’ve had to manage it, he’s had to manage it more than anybody. It’s affected his overall game.
“When you’re injured, it’s hard to work on things sometimes.”
Jacobs was a Pro Bowl alternate after being the 24th overall selection in the draft, the pick acquired from the Chicago Bears in the Khalil Mack trade. Jacobs missed the Raiders’ Week 14 loss to the Tennessee Titans — with the shoulder not responding as it had previously — but returned last week and carried the ball 24 times (his third-highest total of the season) for 89 yards.
Jacobs said last week the injury would not require offseason surgery. He will be spelled by DeAndré Washington and Jalen Richard.
“You miss Josh, if he can’t play,” Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said, “but at the same time, you don’t worry because we have two good backs that can handle it.”
And when it came to Brown, Gruden said he was the “best right tackle in the game.” Brown, who also missed the Week 7 game at the Green Bay Packers with an ankle injury, has surrendered just one sack in 326 pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus data.
“Obviously, he’s a difference maker,” Gruden said. “If you watched us play in London, if you watched us play any of the teams he played against, he’s a difference maker in pass protection, he’s a run player and obviously, he’s been well respected by his peers in the league.”
Oakland signed Brown to the richest contract for an offensive lineman in NFL history this offseason, a four-year deal worth $66 million, with $36.75 million guaranteed.
“We’re disappointed that Trent won’t be able to play,” Gruden said, “but really thrilled that he’s here and he got selected to the Pro Bowl.”
Carr concurs.
“He definitely makes a difference in the football games, that’s for sure,” he said. “Trent, that guy’s just a monster. When it comes to pass game, run game, you literally see him throw grown men eight to 10 yards off the ball. It’s crazy what he’s able to do, against some really talented people.”
Brandon Parker will continue to start at right tackle in Brown’s absence.
Also, Gruden anticipated rookie receiver Hunter Renfrow, who suffered a rib injury at the New York Jets on Nov. 24, to play Sunday.
Besides Jacobs and Renfrow being dinged up, fellow rookies Foster Moreau and Johnathan Abram are on IR, and Isaiah Johnson began the season on IR.
Gruden was asked if the draft class hit the rookie wall?
“They just got hurt,” he said. “They were playing great.”