The Las Vegas Raiders announced that running back Ashton Jeanty suffered an injury during offseason workouts, the team's first significant personnel setback since the March coaching turnover. No timeline was provided. The injury removes the franchise's highest-drafted running back since Josh Jacobs departed for Green Bay in free agency, leaving a rotation built around Zamir White and a mix of practice-squad veterans.
Jeanty was expected to contribute immediately in a rebuilt backfield after the Raiders declined to match Jacobs' $12M annual deal and let Alexander Mattison walk without a replacement offer. General manager Tom Telesco signed White to a modest $2.8M extension in February, signaling confidence in the third-year Georgia product as a lead back. The Raiders then used a fourth-round pick on Jeanty, a Boise State product who rushed for 2,497 yards in his final college season. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy's scheme relies on zone-stretch concepts that demand two healthy ball-carriers capable of handling 15-plus touches per game. The injury leaves the depth chart thinner than any AFC West competitor.
The timing matters for three groups. First, the coaching staff loses a full offseason of evaluation reps on a player projected to handle third-down and two-minute work, the exact role that exposed depth issues in last season's 8-9 finish. Second, sponsors tied to offensive performance metrics now face a backfield with limited proven production outside White, who has never carried more than 145 times in a season. Allegiant Stadium's suite-holder base skews toward outcome-based entertainment value, and running-back uncertainty dampens the offense's ceiling in a division with Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Bo Nix. Third, any front-office conversation about roster risk before the June minicamp now includes running-back depth as an unresolved variable. The Raiders enter OTAs with White, backup Sincere McCormick, and practice-squad holdovers. McCormick has 41 career NFL touches.
The position group was already thin by design. Telesco's offseason spending prioritized the defensive line ($45M in new guarantees) and tight end (Brock Bowers, $18M fully guaranteed at pick 13). The running-back room received $5.6M in total cap allocation, the second-lowest figure among playoff-contending rosters. That bet assumed Jeanty would provide cost-controlled depth with three-down upside, freeing cap space for a potential Gardner Minshew extension before training camp. The injury doesn't crater the offense, but it removes the insurance policy that justified the light veteran spending. If White misses time or McCormick doesn't win the backup role in August, the Raiders will enter Week 1 with a position group built for a 14-carry, game-script-dependent approach rather than the 28-touch rushing identity Getsy installed in Chicago.
Watch for movement in two areas. The Raiders have room under the $255.4M cap to add a veteran on a post-June-1 deal, and the timing aligns with cuts from teams trimming rosters before camp. Names like Kareem Hunt and Dalvin Cook remain unsigned, and both would cost less than $3M in Year 1 guarantees. Second, the team's August joint practices with the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings will serve as a live audition for McCormick and any additional camp signings. Those sessions happen July 30-August 1, giving Telesco a three-week window to evaluate before final cuts.
The Raiders open the season at home against the Chargers on September 8 with a backfield that now carries more questions than the front office budgeted for in March.