The Las Vegas Raiders dug themselves into an early hole Thursday, heading into halftime against the Houston Texans down 20-3 with Fernando Mendoza starting the entire first half. The rookie quarterback struggled in his first preseason start, going 8-of-15 for 86 yards and throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Then Aidan O'Connell came on in the second half to save the day.
O'Connell completed 15-of-24 passes for 166 yards and helped lead multiple scoring drives as the Raiders clawed their way back to a 22-20 victory. But one of the franchise's best players played no role in the comeback and has yet to appear in either of the first two preseason games: star edge rusher Maxx Crosby. Apparently, that's not going to change.
Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak confirmed Friday that Crosby won't play in their final preseason game next week either, a home matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. More news: Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza Reflects on Rough Preseason Start vs Texans Crosby played through a torn meniscus in his left knee toward the end of last season before the Raiders placed him on injured reserve in late December. He then underwent a minor meniscus repair in early January.
But he's progressed smoothly throughout the offseason and has been a full participant in training camp. So it's somewhat surprising that Kubiak wouldn't want to at least see the team's best defensive player in action before the season starts, and you can bet Crosby himself is probably pretty bummed about it. More news: George Kittle’s Achilles Recovery Takes Positive Turn Ahead of Week 1 More news: Jerry Jones Plans to Make Cowboys Players Pay for $500,000 NFL Fine Crosby was reportedly frustrated when the team placed him on season-ending IR with the injury, strongly disagreeing with the decision and insisting he could have played through it.
The situation is different now with a new coaching staff in place, but Crosby remains the same fiery competitor who is always going to want to play. Unfortunately, it looks like he and Raiders fans both may have to wait for the season opener on Sunday, Sept. 13, against the Miami Dolphins in Las Vegas.
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