Raiders place Pro Bowl tackle Trent Brown on IR
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Raiders placed Trent Brown on season-ending injured reserve, one day after the big right tackle was named to his first Pro Bowl.
Brown, who this past offseason signed a contract making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history, has missed the past two games because of a pectoral injury after sitting out one game earlier in the season with an ankle injury.
“His pec is just not getting any better,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said Wednesday. “It’s disappointing. Obviously what he did put on tape was very impressive.”
The news came a day after Brown was named to the Pro Bowl despite playing 11 of 14 games. According to Pro Football Focus, Brown allowed one sack in 326 snaps this season.
A seventh-round pick by San Francisco in 2015, Brown started at left tackle for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots last year before signing a four-year, $66 million contract with the Raiders as a free agent. The deal includes $36 million in guarantees.
Gruden said Brown has been worth every penny.
“To me he’s the best right tackle in the game,” Gruden said. “If you watch us play against any of the teams that he played against, he’s a difference-maker in pass protection, he’s a good run player, and obviously he’s been well respected by his peers in the league.”
Quarterback Derek Carr agreed.
“He definitely makes a difference on the football games, that’s for sure,” Carr said. “Him and (center Rodney Hudson) getting the Pro Bowl, rightfully so. Trent, that guy is just a monster when it comes to pass game, run game. You literally see him throw grown men 8-10 yards off the ball. It’s crazy what he’s able to do against some really talented people.”
The Raiders will also be without rookie running back Josh Jacobs for Sunday’s game against the Chargers in Los Angeles. The 24th overall pick in the draft and a top contender for offensive rookie of the year, Jacobs has been playing with a fractured shoulder since late October.
Jacobs was held out of Oakland’s loss to Tennessee in Week 14, but returned and carried 24 times for 89 yards in last Sunday’s 20-16 loss to Jacksonville in the Raiders final home game at the Coliseum.
“We’ll hold out hope that he can play against Denver,” Gruden said, referring to the team’s season-finale Dec. 29.
Brandon Parker, a third-round pick in 2018 who started the three games that Brown was out this season, will remain the starter now that Brown’s season is done. Parker started 12 games at right tackle during his rookie season.
Notes: Left guard Richie Incognito did not practice and is wearing a walking boot on his right foot. Incognito is listed with an ankle injury that he suffered on the final play of the game against the Jaguars. Linebacker Marquel Lee (toe) was also held out. … Due to rain, the Raiders practiced at a nearby indoor facility for the second time this season.
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