With the Las Vegas Raiders trying to rebound from a four-game losing streak, they needed all hands on deck for their matchup with the New York Jets on Sunday. But curiously, starting running back Ashton Jeanty was nowhere to be found for most of the first half. In fact, Jeanty didn't get a carry until the last few minutes of the second quarter.
What's going on here?
Jeanty wasn't listed on the Raiders' final injury report for the game. And unless I'm missing something, Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak never recently commented on anything that might limit his snap counts or status. Instead, the Raiders went right to Jeanty's backup to start, Mike Washington Jr., as they tried to get back to a 4-4 record at .500.
Huh. Let's unpack this situation.
Some have speculated that Kubiak might have temporarily benched Jeanty for giving the Jets' defense some bulletin-board material when he noted that a few Jets defenders don't want to tackle. Not giving Jeanty early carries or any touches of the sort might be related to discipline for what the Raiders deem to be unnecessary trash talk about an opponent.
I don't find this outcome particularly likely, but the fact that Jeanty wasn't listed on the Raiders' injury report does make it seem plausible.
#Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty on facing the #Jets defense this week:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 29, 2026
"Yeah. I think we can definitely get the run game going. Get back on track. ... A couple guys out there that don't really want to tackle, but I'm not going to say names." 😳 pic.twitter.com/ySSn53MpMC
To me, the more likely outcome is that the Raiders finally gave Jeanty some needed rest. The running back has been nursing a variety of lower-body injuries for a while. It's shown in his performance, as Jeanty had just 64 total rushing yards in his last three games. Given that the Las Vegas bye isn't until Week 13, it would make sense to steal some rest for the tailback against a weaker opponent on paper and limit his workload.
However, the fact that the Raiders didn't close any sort of injury designation for Jeanty does make me skeptical that they made this decision on a whim without reporting it. What a peculiar situation. We'll have to see how Raiders leadership and Jeanty clarify what exactly happened here after the Jets game.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why isn't Ashton Jeanty playing much against the Jets?
