LAS VEGAS
The first injury report of Bills week gave the Raiders one clear answer and two open questions. The clear answer is in the backfield: running back Ashton Jeanty was a full participant in Wednesday's practice, his ankle designation was removed from the report entirely, and head coach Klint Kubiak told reporters there is no debate about Sunday. The open questions are at wide receiver and on the defensive line, where Jalen Nailor and Tonka Hemingway — the only two Raiders who did not practice Wednesday — both remain in the concussion protocol ahead of Sunday's 1:25 p.m. PT kickoff against the Buffalo Bills (4-1) at Allegiant Stadium. Las Vegas is 3-2.
"He's Playing"
According to NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk, a report earlier Wednesday indicated the Raiders were considering sitting Jeanty for a week to let his ankle and foot injuries fully heal. Kubiak disputed that directly. "He's playing," Kubiak said, in comments reported by NBC Sports via Sam Warren of The Athletic. The coach added that Jeanty is starting to feel considerably better physically and that the staff is looking forward to giving him more full-speed repetitions in practice this week — the opposite of a staff preparing to hold its featured back out of a home game against a 4-1 opponent.
The practice report backed the coach up. FantasyPros, summarizing the team's first report of the week, noted that Jeanty was a full participant Wednesday and that his previous ankle designation had been taken off the report. That is a meaningful step from where Jeanty stood a week ago: limited last Thursday, held out of practice entirely last Friday, and ultimately a game-time decision at New England.
What Jeanty Has Been Playing Through
The background matters here, because Wednesday's clarity only reads as news against the last two weeks. Per NBC Sports, Jeanty first injured his ankle in training camp, and a foot injury was added to his listing on the Week 5 report. Playing through both at New England, he took 32 of the offense's 60 snaps and produced a modest rushing line — 10 carries for 27 yards — while doing his most damaging work as a receiver, with three catches for 50 yards.
His season totals, as reported by NBC Sports, stand at 88 carries for 291 yards and 22 catches for 215 yards with two touchdowns. Those are not the numbers of a back being ridden into the ground, and they help explain both sides of Wednesday's brief controversy: a young runner carrying two lower-body designations invites rest speculation, but a full practice with the ankle designation removed is the strongest on-paper signal a Wednesday in October can offer. Thursday and Friday will confirm it, yet as of Wednesday night, the Raiders' plan is public — Jeanty starts against Buffalo.
Nailor's Protocol Stretches Into a Second Week
The receiver room is thinner than the depth chart suggests. Raiders Wire reported that Nailor and Hemingway were the two players missing from Wednesday's practice, both with concussions. Nailor's case is the more concerning timeline: Raiders Wire noted he missed last week's game after suffering the concussion in Week 4 against Kansas City, and it is, in the outlet's assessment, somewhat surprising and concerning that he has not yet been able to return.
FantasyPros added that Nailor remains in the protocol and, having started the week as a non-participant, does not appear close to clearing it — while noting he still has a chance to play if his week turns quickly. Raiders Wire framed Thursday as the tell: if Nailor is not back at practice Thursday, he is likely out for a second consecutive week. Even in a modest receiving role this season, his absence lands hard on a thin position group, pushing still more of the passing load onto Brock Bowers, Tre Tucker and Cody White, as Raiders Wire pointed out. Follow the rest of the week's Raiders coverage on Previously's sports hub.
Hemingway Is the Bigger On-Field Loss
If one of the two absences changes how Sunday's game is played, it is Hemingway's. Raiders Wire reported that the defensive lineman left Sunday's game in New England in the first quarter — initially described as stingers in his neck before he was ruled out for the remainder with a concussion — and described him as a consistent presence who has been the Raiders' top interior defensive lineman this season.
Las Vegas already auditioned the understudies last weekend: with Hemingway out, Adam Butler and Folorunso Fatukasi stepped up to try to fill the void, with Thomas Booker IV and Jonah Laulu also in the mix, according to Raiders Wire. Against a Buffalo offense that punishes light interior fronts, that rotation — and whether Hemingway can progress through the protocol in time to join it — is the defensive storyline of the week. A first-quarter exit followed by a Wednesday non-participation is not a promising start, but concussion timelines are step-by-step by design, and the Raiders will take updates day by day.
Bowers Limited, as Usual
The third name Raiders fans scan for carried his familiar Wednesday label. FantasyPros reported that tight end Brock Bowers (knee) was limited at practice Wednesday, noting the team has made a habit of limiting his workload early in the week and that he is expected to be available Sunday — and to remain a top-tier option when he is. NBC Sports' Week 6 injury roundup made the same point in plainer terms: the Raiders continue to give Bowers half-days on Wednesdays, with no expected impact on his Sunday status. In other words, the limited tag on Bowers is routine maintenance; the tags on Nailor and Hemingway are the real news.
The Bills' Side of the Report
Buffalo arrives with its own short list. Bills Wire, in its live injury coverage of the matchup, listed offensive tackle Spencer Brown (back), defensive tackle Ed Oliver (knee) and wide receiver DJ Moore (shoulder) among the top Bills names to be watched through the week, with Brown offering comments on his back issue Wednesday. NBC Sports reported that Oliver was a non-participant in Buffalo's Wednesday walk-through report; he suffered the knee injury in the Bills' Week 4 loss to New England, avoided a long-term injury, but has yet to return to the practice field, and will need some level of participation before Buffalo can consider making him active Sunday.
Oliver's status matters for the same reason Hemingway's does: interior pressure is where this matchup can tilt. If both teams are down their best interior defender, Sunday becomes a test of defensive-line depth on both sidelines — and of how much Jeanty, cleared and full-go, can exploit a Buffalo front missing its anchor.
What to Watch Thursday and Friday
Wednesday reports are opening arguments, not verdicts. The checkpoints from here are simple: Nailor returning to practice Thursday in any capacity would revive his Sunday chances; another absence points to a second straight missed game. Hemingway's progression through the protocol will show up first as limited work. Jeanty, barring a setback, is settled — his coach said so, and his full practice said the rest. Kickoff is Sunday, October 18 at 1:25 p.m. PT at Allegiant Stadium. More Las Vegas coverage lives on Previously's news hub.
