Star Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby has been ruled out of Monday’s game and is expected to undergo season-ending surgery on his ankle, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the Review-Journal.
Monday’s game against the Falcons at Allegiant Stadium will be just the second game Crosby will miss in his career. Crosby did not practice this week.
The outlook is a bit brighter for quarterback Aidan O’Connell, who also missed all three practices this week.
He has been officially listed as questionable, and the team will give him another couple of days to try to recover from the bone bruise in his knee that had him carted off the field last week in Tampa.
Desmond Ridder, who has taken all the first-team reps in practice this week, would be in line to start for the Raiders if O’Connell can’t play. The team also signed Carter Bradley from the practice squad as additional insurance.
Crosby’s absence is a big blow to the defense.
He first suffered an ankle injury against Baltimore in Week 2 and didn’t look himself as he tried to play through it the following week against Carolina. That prompted a decision to sit out a game against Cleveland, the first game he had missed in his career, to try to get back to full strength.
The team then managed his reps the following two weeks in practice and games, but Crosby has played 100 percent of the defensive snaps in each of the past seven weeks and has been off the injury report completely for the past few weeks.
Defensive end Charles Snowden could be one of the options to help pick up the massive burden in Crosby’s absence, but his availability could also be in question, as he is facing a charge of driving under the influence after he was arrested this week.
Snowden has practiced this week, and coach Antonio Pierce said any disciplinary action would be handled internally.
Cornerback Sam Webb is doubtful with a back injury, and defensive tackle Adam Butler is questionable as he works his way through concussion protocol. Butler was able to get in a full practice session Saturday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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