The Raiders held practice on Thursday and not surprisingly, Darren Waller did not practice. The Pro Bowl tight end hurt his hamstring early in the team’s Week 5 game against the Chiefs and has yet to return to the field.
Waller spoke with Jim Trotter of NFL Media on Wednesday and said it would be unlikely that he would be ready to return for this week’s game against Houston.
.@Raiders remain upbeat despite 1-4 start. Strong belief things are going to turn. Spoke to TE Darren Waller, who left previous game w/ hamstring injury. He did not practice today, but said of injury: “This weekend will probably be tough for me, but it won’t be a longtime thing.”
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) October 19, 2022
Waller played in the team’s first five games despite missing most of training camp with an injury. He was off to a slow start, averaging just 43.8 yards per game in the first four contests of the year. He had scored just one touchdown and was averaging only four receptions per game.
Despite the 1-4 start, the Raiders aren’t going to panic and put Waller on the field before he is ready. Expect them to exercise caution and make sure that Waller is 100 percent healthy before returning to the field. When will that be? It’s anyone’s guess at this point.
