Raiders TE Darren Waller and WR Hunter Renfrow were both placed on IR today. This guarantees that Las Vegas will be without two big offensive weapons for a minimum of 4 weeks. A big hit to a struggling offense. The Raiders are currently 2-6 and despite their record have actually played relatively close games. Outside of a blowout loss to the Saints they haven't lost a game by more than 7 points this year. This however, will make it hard for them to try and climb out of the hole they are currently being buried in.
And one more: Raiders also are placing WR Hunter Renfrow on injured reserve due to his oblique injury, per source. So on the same day, both Renfrow and Darren Waller both are being placed on IR, meaning they’re out at least four games each.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 10, 2022
Waller has been dealing with a left hamstring injury and has graced the injury report with his presence since week 7. The IR designation though a surprise to some is probably the best thing for him as soft tissue injuries tend to get worse and turn into nagging injuries over the year if not allowed to properly heal. Waller is a threat to every defense when he is on the field and healthy but the Raiders will have to wait until December 8th at the earliest to see that again.
Renfrow has been dealing with his own hamstring issues as well as his ribs. Two injuries that for a player at his position especially a wide receiver in the slot have a lot of trouble playing with. The hamstring issue can affect deceleration into cuts and change of direction as well as burst and strides. The ribs affect breathing and for an individual taking hits across the middle of the field by linebackers can affect him pain wise as well as mentally knowing the pain he is going to feel with every tackle.
I repeat. Hamstring injuries have highest rate of recurrence of all soft tissue injuries. Hard to recover fully when pressing to return. https://t.co/Vp3l6Ih0i6
— Stephania Bell (@Stephania_ESPN) November 10, 2022
Hamstring injuries have been a constant problem in the NFL this season and many before it. KJ Hamler, Keenan Allen, Russell Wilson, Ahkello Witherspoon, Kadarius Toney and Leonard Fournette are just a few of the names that have dealt with this injury this season. Normally we see these play a heavy role in the early portion of the season following camp and overuse and play but they are starting to show up more in season as well. An issue that will have to be dealt with in the S&C and Athletic Training rooms.
So much time is spent on strengthening the legs in athletes and having them get stronger and stronger to break tackles and make bigger hits. The problem is the imbalances that can form out of this. One of the main purposes of the Hamstrings is to eccentrically contract to slow down the leg and when it's not trained eccentrically or not enough it can cause imbalance and lead to strains. Likewise, flexibility is a big piece and athletes who don't focus on flexibility enough and implementation of flexibility exercises into their workouts put themselves at greater risk for hamstring strains.
Hopefully both Renfrow, and Waller recover fully in the 4 weeks they have off to focus on getting healthy. In the meantime the Raiders will look to TE Foster Moreau and WR Keelan Cole to take a larger role in their offense.
Week 10 Downward Trending injuries 📉 #InjuryUpdate #NFL https://t.co/f8N0oKWm7j pic.twitter.com/7hSbVyCmZf
— Sports Doc Matt (@sportsdocmatt) November 10, 2022
