Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders reportedly rewarded kicker Daniel Carlson with a four-year contract extension.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports that the deal is worth $18.4 million with a $4 million signing bonus and $10.2 million guaranteed, making Carlson the third-highest paid kicker in the NFL.

Carlson has put together a strong season in his fourth year with the Raiders. He's made 27-of-30 field goals (90 percent) and 23-of-25 extra points. 

He was a fifth-round selection in 2018 by the Minnesota Vikings but was cut during his rookie season. After being picked up by the Raiders, he's emerged as one of the most consistent kickers in the league. Carlson set a single-season franchise record that year by 94.1 percent of his field goals.

The 26-year-old broke his own record last season by converting on 94.3% of his field goals. He is 9-of-10 in 50-yard attempts over the past two seasons.

The Raiders are currently 6-6 after starting the season with a 3-0 record. Las Vegas has lost four of its last five games and has given up 30 or more points three times in that span. The Raiders are coming off a Week 13 loss to the Washington Football Team on a late field goal.

Las Vegas will face the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday in a pivotal AFC West matchup. The Raiders struggled against their division rivals in Week 10, losing in a 41-14 blowout.

Las Vegas Raiders running back Kenyan Drake called for the NFL to review its rules on tackling after he reportedly suffered a season-ending injury in Sunday's 17-15 loss to the Washington Football Team.

Drake tweeted about the play in which he broke his ankle, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:

The #NFL needs to look at this specific style of tackling. They are throwing flags for taunting and protecting qbs from getting touched but this is my 2nd straight season being injured by a guy pulling me back and using his body weight to roll up my legs. If the emphasis is to protect the players this should be an illegal form of tackling like a horse collar. We lose players weekly to high ankle sprains and broken bones but the league would rather flag players for erroneous taunting penalties. Let’s get the priorities together.

In 2005, the NFL moved to penalize horse-collar tackles in part because multiple players were injured from that style of tackling in the preceding season. Perhaps a similar step will be forthcoming if more players echo Drake's sentiment.

As the 27-year-old alluded to, he suffered a high ankle sprain midway through the 2020 season. He ultimately only missed one game.

With his season apparently over, his frustration Sunday was understandable.

When the NFL made efforts to limit and penalize helmet-to-helmet contact, some feared an unintended consequence was that defenders would begin targeting offensive players below the waist instead. That, in turn, would potentially increase the number of significant knee and ankle injuries.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Rob Gronkowski stated in 2015 that he'd rather suffer a concussion over a major knee injury. He cited the typically shorter recovery time for a concussion and the possible long-term consequences to his career by blowing out his knee.

Addressing injury data from a unique 2020 preseason—one impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic—the NFL said how it was generally utilizing "multi-year injury reduction strategies designed to reduce knee ligament injuries, ankle injuries and soft-tissue strains."

Likely to that end, the NFL approved for the 2021 season a new change expanding the zone in which players on both sides of the ball are prohibited from blocking below the waist.

Washington Football Team defensive tackle Daniel Wise didn't appear to be aiming specifically for Drake's ankle, nor did his motion appear to be unnatural in bringing Drake to the turf.

However, the play in question could serve as an example if the competition committee wants to take Drake's suggestion on board.

Las Vegas Raiders running back Kenyan Drake reportedly suffered a broken ankle in Sunday's 17-15 loss to the Washington Football Team, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

The 27-year-old is expected to miss the remainder of the 2021 season.

Drake was carted off in the first half of Sunday's game after taking a big hit from a trio of Washington players on a running play. Raiders running back Josh Jacobs said Drake told him his ankle was broken when he exited:

The former third-round pick also tweeted after the game that the tackle that injured him "should be an illegal form of tackling like a horse collar." He added, "We lose players weekly to high ankle sprains and broken bones but the league would rather flag players for erroneous taunting penalties. Let's get the priorities together."

Drake joined the Raiders during the offseason, agreeing to a two-year contract worth up to $14.5 million. He entered Sunday's game having rushed for 254 yards and two touchdowns in 11 contests. He also had 29 catches for 283 yards and a score.

The 27-year-old has been one of the most durable running backs in the NFL since being drafted in 2016. He appeared in all 16 games through his first three seasons with the Miami Dolphins. In addition, he played 14 games during the 2019 and 2020 seasons between the Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals before playing 15 games for the Cards in 2020.

Drake's best season came in 2020 when he rushed for a career-high 955 yards and 10 touchdowns on 239 carries. He also caught 25 passes for 137 yards.

With Drake sidelined, Jalen Richard and Peyton Barber figure to see more playing time in the coming weeks. The duo has combined for 154 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 11 catches for 76 yards.

Jacobs remains Las Vegas' top running back. He entered Sunday's game leading the team with 420 yards and six touchdowns on 111 carries, in addition to 30 catches for 198 yards.

The Raiders are 6-6 on the season, fourth in the AFC West, following Sunday's loss to Washington.  

The already-thin group of tight ends in fantasy football will be even thinner Sunday with Darren Waller unable to play for the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders downgraded Waller to out against the Washington Football Team because of a back/knee injury that kept him out of practice all week.

This will mark the second game that Waller has missed this season. He previously sat out a Week 7 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles with an ankle injury.

Waller is the No. 4 tight end in points-per-reception leagues this season with an average of 12.9 points per game.

Third-year tight end Foster Moreau will likely receive most of the snaps for the Raiders against the Football Team. His overall stat line isn't encouraging with 135 yards and three touchdowns on 12 receptions in 11 games.

But the last time Waller didn't play, Moreau was one of Derek Carr's go-to options. The 24-year-old caught all six of his targets for 60 yards and one touchdown against the Eagles.

NBC Sports Edge's John Daigle named Moreau as the No. 1 tight end to roster for Week 13 and provided additional context about his performance about that Philadelphia game (h/t Yahoo Sports):

Reminder Moreau played on every snap in his lone spot-start for Darren Waller (knee) this year, running 32 routes on Derek Carr's 37 dropbacks and recording 6/60/1 on six targets (17.6% share). He's the strongest fill-in for however long Waller, labeled week-to-week, is sidelined. If you have Waller, I would bid the farm for Moreau since whomever is starting inarguably qualifies as a TE1.

Washington's defense has been middle-of-the-pack against tight ends in fantasy this season. Opposing players at the position rank 15th with an average of 7.3 points per game.

Moreau is currently rostered in 20 percent of Yahoo leagues and 25 percent of ESPN leagues.

The other obvious beneficiary from Waller's absence is Hunter Renfrow. He leads the Raiders in receptions (64), receiving yards (658) and touchdown receptions (four).

Renfrow and Waller are the only Las Vegas pass-catchers who have more than 40 targets this season. The Clemson alum is coming off a season-high eight receptions and 134 yards in the Thanksgiving Day win over the Dallas Cowboys.

That game also marked the first time Renfrow had averaged at least nine yards per reception since Week 6 against the Denver Broncos.

Sunday does present another favorable matchup for Renfrow to put up big numbers. The Football Team is allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to opposing receivers (27.2).

Anyone looking for a last-minute addition at wide receiver might be out of luck with Renfrow. He's already rostered in 86 percent of ESPN leagues and 81 percent of Yahoo leagues, but go get him on waivers as a WR2 option this week if he's available.

Fantasy stats and rankings via FantasyPros.

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller was ruled out Saturday for Sunday's game against the Washington Football Team because of a back/knee injury.

The Pro Bowler has been hampered by injuries all season. He missed a Week 7 matchup with knee and ankle issues, and he suffered a strained IT band in his knee against the Dallas Cowboys last week.

Waller had registered two receptions for 33 yards before exiting the Dallas game in the first half, and Vegas went on to pull off a 36-33 overtime win on the road.

When Waller has been in the lineup, his stats have been solid but nowhere near his 2020 level of performance. He has 53 receptions for 643 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games this season.

Last season was by far the best of his career, eclipsing a 2019 campaign that saw him finish with 90 receptions and 1,145 yards.

Aside from Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs, Waller was easily the best tight end in football last season, setting career highs with 107 catches for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns.

Waller is quarterback Derek Carr's most dynamic target, and he will be sorely missed until he is able to return.

Foster Moreau will see a majority of the snaps at tight end with Waller out. The 24-year-old has 12 receptions for 135 yards and three touchdowns this season.

Carr is also likely to focus heavily on wide receivers Hunter Renfrow, Bryan Edwards and Zay Jones in the passing game, as well as DeSean Jackson if he is able to play.

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller is week-to-week after suffering a knee injury on Thanksgiving Day against the Dallas Cowboys.

Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia gave the update during his Monday press conference ahead of a Week 13 matchup with the Washington Football Team.

If Waller sits Sunday, it will be the second time he's missed action this season. Waller also sat out a Week 7 game against the Philadelphia Eagles with an ankle injury.

The 29-year-old has been a big part of Las Vegas' offense this season. He has 53 catches for 643 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games.

Waller was also the team's leading pass-catcher in 2020, recording 107 receptions for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns in 16 games (15 starts). It was his second straight 1,000-plus yard season.

The Raiders have needed Waller to perform at a high level once again following the release of wide receiver Henry Ruggs III, who has been charged with one misdemeanor and four felonies stemming from his involvement in a fatal car crash in Las Vegas in early November.

Losing Waller for any period of time isn't ideal for Bisaccia. Waller's backup, Foster Moreau, has 40 catches for 449 yards and 10 touchdowns through his three-year NFL career. The team also has Daniel Helm on the roster.

The Raiders are 6-5 this season and currently sit in second place in the AFC West.

The Las Vegas Raiders have reportedly not begun their coaching search to replace Jon Gruden, who resigned on Oct. 11, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.

Gruden stepped down from his position as head coach after a series of emails were uncovered by Ken Belson and Katherine Rosman of The New York Times in which he used racist, misogynistic and anti-gay language. 

Rich Bisaccia has served as the Raiders' interim coach while keeping the team in playoff contention at 6-5.

La Canfora reported owner Mark Davis remains focused on this season and has "rebuffed inquiries from many interested parties" regarding the vacancy.

"He isn't ready to go there yet," a source told La Canfora. "He's not ready to launch a coaching search. That's not where he is."

As the only NFL team without a full-time coach, the Raiders could get a head start on their search and attract the top candidates before more vacancies open. Teams are allowed to begin interviewing candidates in the final two weeks of the regular season.

It's still an unusual situation, however, where the on-field performance remains high.

After three straight losses, Las Vegas earned an overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving to stay within one game of first place in the AFC West behind the 7-4 Kansas City Chiefs.

The Week 14 battle against the Chiefs and Week 18 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers could determine the Raiders' fate in 2021.

It will give ownership and the front office a chance to evaluate everyone involved in the organization before making any decisions heading into 2022.