The Las Vegas Raiders got some good medical news Friday when star punter A.J. Cole performed well in his first work since suffering a low-ankle sprain in Sunday’s 40-6 loss at the Indianapolis Colts when he was injured on a blocked punt.
After practice, Las Vegas coach said he expects Cole to play Sunday when the Raiders host the Tennessee Titans at Allegiant Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. If Cole has an unexpected setback and can’t play, the team will elevate newly signed Brad Robbins from
the practice squad to punt Sunday.
While Cole is expected to be a go, star tight end Brock Bowers is not expected to play Sunday. Carroll said Bowers is “not quite there yet” because of a lingering knee injury.
It’s not a surprise since Bowers missed the entire week of practice. He was injured in Week 1, but played through the injury for the next three weeks. He didn’t play last week. The Raiders have one more game, Oct. 19 at Kansas City, before their bye week. Las Vegas could opt to give him until after the bye to make sure he’s fully recovered.
His backup Michael Mayer is back and will likely start. Mayer practiced fully all week after missing the the past two games due to a concussion.
Starting cornerback Eric Stokes is back after missing the past game with a knee injury. It will be interesting to see if his replacement, rookie Darien Porter, will takes snaps at the opposite cornerback spot in front of Kyu Blu Kelly. Porter played week at Indianapolis last week, while Kelly struggled.
