Jalen

Richard

The team also worked out Wayne Gallman. The Steelers are likely looking at competition for Anthony McFarland. The former fourth-round pick is reportedly on the roster bubble this summer. Should Najee Harris miss time, Benny Snell would handle much of his rushing work, but the bruising back isn’t much of a pass-catcher. That role would go to McFarland or a potential free agent signing.

Richard had just 12 receptions in his second year with the Raiders. Without Jon Gruden stubbornly shoehorning Richard into the lineup during two-minute drives, the pass-catching specialist was relegated to spelling Josh Jacobs for much of the 2021 season. Richard, 25, is somehow signed through the 2025 season.

Richard has not played many snaps this season, but that could change now that Kenyan Drake (ankle, IR) is done for the year. Josh Jacobs has established a nice weekly floor due to his involvement in the passing game, but Richard would seem to be a threat to those targets. It is something to watch heading into the fantasy playoffs.

Richard’s status has taken on increased importance with Kenyan Drake (ankle) out for the season. It is unclear if Richard is COVID positive or landed on the list Sunday morning as the result of being a close contact, but he is presumably unvaccinated. Richard made a big show of refusing the vaccine at the start of Raiders camp. That was over four months ago, of course. If Richard is positive, he will be ineligible for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs, and would not be able to resume practicing until the middle of next week. Even if Richard gets cleared, we would expect him to be little more than a “breather back” on third downs, with Josh Jacobs finally getting to take the passing-down lead.

This was the fear after Drake got his ankle pinned underneath him in ugly fashion on Sunday afternoon. Drake also dealt with ankle issues in 2020, though this was not an “injury prone"-type of issue. This was “a grown man just fell on my ankle"-type of issue. Drake had been more involved in the Raiders’ offense since Jon Gruden’s firing/Henry Ruggs’ release, though he was still rarely seeing more than 10 handles per game. The biggest fantasy impact of his injury is going to be the extra targets it sends Josh Jacobs’ way. Jacobs caught a career-high nine balls on Sunday, though that was with Jalen Richard on the COVID-19 list. It’s possible the lifer passing-down back Richard starts claiming some third-down reps in the highly-paid Drake’s absence. One month shy of his 28th birthday, Drake’s bloated salary includes $5.5 million in 2022 guarantees, so he will be back in Vegas with his 53-man roster spot intact. Considering his age, role, and now this injury, however, he doesn’t have much of a Dynasty league future.

Richard hasn’t been a viable fantasy option at any point this year but he does see some run on passing downs. Kenyan Drake and Josh Jacobs, who had already seen his receiving work scaled up this year, should both get a few extra routes with Richard unable to play this week. Jacobs enters Week 13 as a solid RB2 option while Drake is on the RB3/4 border.

Richard missed last week after suffering an injury to his ribs against the Chiefs in Week 10. Richard does not have any standalone fantasy value, but his return could put a dent in Josh Jacobs’ receiving production.

The Raiders brought Peyton Barber over Jalen Richard this week. Barber had been a healthy scratch for a few weeks leading up to this game. With Barber playing less of a pass-catching role, Kenyan Drake should have some FLEX juice in PPR leagues.

A bit player who only plays in passing situations, Richard has been in on a total of 45 offensive snaps in five games active this season. Making over $2 million, Richard is extremely overpaid. Battling cracked ribs, his absence could open up a couple more looks for Kenyan Drake against the Bengals.

That leaves Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake as the only two remaining running backs for the Raiders. While Richard doesn’t have a big role in this offense, his absence could lead to more third-down snaps for the other backs. It’s a situation worth monitoring.