The Raiders stole Jackson Powers-Johnson in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, partially due to some injury concerns. Powers-Johnson was forced to leave the Senior Bowl with an injury and was not able to work out at the NFL Combine and his Pro Day.
The injury caused him to miss some of the earlier offseason workouts for the Raiders, but it was never quite clear exactly what was going on. But we were able to gain some clarity on his situation this week.
According to Tashan Reed of The Athletic, he revealed that Powers-Johnson has been dealing with a shoulder injury over the last few months. The good news is that he was able to return to practice in a limited form this week, indicating that the injury isn’t overly serious:
Rookie left guard Jackson Powers-Johnson missed a chunk of time during OTAs because of a shoulder injury, but he’s been able to participate in rookie minicamp and mandatory minicamp. During mandatory minicamp, Cody Whitehair has stepped in as the first-team left guard as Powers-Johnson works his way back into form. If Powers-Johnson can stay healthy, he could be a productive player in Year 1.
It’s also worth mentioning that Powers-Johnson is expected to play left guard for the Raiders. The Raiders have moved Dylan Parham, a two-year starter at left guard, to the right side as they anticipate using more wide-zone concepts in the run game.
The expectation is that “JPJ” will be fully healthy for training camp next month and he should be their Week 1 starter at left guard. But if he is unable to take that job, look for Andrus Peat or Cody Whitehair to start at that spot instead.
