Raiders report: Practice squad linebacker earns promotion

Raiders report

Schedule

All practices at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, unless noted:

■ Thursday — Practice, 11:30 a.m.

■ Friday — Practice, 11:30 a.m.

■ Saturday — Off

■ Sunday — vs. Cincinnati Bengals, Allegiant Stadium, 1:05 p.m.

Quote of the day

A.J. Cole, the NFL leader in gross punting average, was a hit on social media on Sunday night after making a huge hit that forced Kansas City returner Mike Hughes to fumble, stealing a possession for the Raiders.

The play came a week after Giants’ defensive back Keion Crossen was fined for blasting Cole with a cheap shot away from the action.

“That’s how football is,” he said. “You’re either the hammer or the nail. I was the nail in New York, so I had to kind of flip the script a little bit.”

Cole said he would prefer to force a fair catch or to down a ball to eliminate any chance of return, but he obviously isn’t afraid to mix it up and get physical when the situation calls for it.

“You punt the ball and you’re kind of jogging down the field and there’s a certain point where you realize, ‘Oh, OK. It’s happening. Stay calm,’” Cole said. “You see the game and there’s nobody in the way, so it’s just on you. Then you just kind of hope for the best.”

Injury report

Cornerbacks Amik Robertson and Keisean Nixon both missed Wednesday’s practice. Robertson is battling a hip issue. Nixon has both ankle and foot problems.

Running back Jalen Richard was also absent due to a rib injury that caused him to leave Sunday’s game against the Chiefs in the second half.

Linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski (ankle) and fullback Alec Ingold (knee) were both absent. Ingold is feared to have suffered a season-ending injury in Sunday’s game but has yet to be placed on injured reserve.

Running back Josh Jacobs was limited with a knee injury, but cornerback Brandon Facyson (finger/hamstring) and defensive end Yannick Ngakoue (back) were full participants.

Transactions

Rookie safety Tyree Gillespie has been placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

Linebacker Patrick Onwuasor has been promoted from the practice squad to the active roster in his place. Defensive lineman P.J. Johnson was added to the vacated spot on the practice squad.

Johnson was a seventh-round pick of the Lions in the 2019 draft and has yet to play in a regular-season game despite stints with the Chargers, Seahawks, Cardinals, Lions (again) and Panthers.

Getting close

Safety Roderic Teamer was on the field Monday, officially opening the 21-day window for the Raiders to decide whether to activate him or shut him down for the season.

Bisaccia declined to commit to a timeline for Teamer, who has been on IR since Oct. 20 with a shoulder injury.

Crapped out

Bengals’ coach Zac Taylor will bring his team to Allegiant Stadium to play a pivotal game in the AFC playoff race against the Raiders on Sunday. The work trip will look a lot different than his usual jaunts to Sin City.

Taylor loves playing craps so much that he and his wife no longer travel together, leaving him more time to enjoy his favorite activity.

“I just spend 72 hours at the craps table,” he said. “I don’t go to shows, I don’t go to dinner. I don’t go to the pool. I just like to play craps, very low, low stakes craps. About once every two or three years. I usually self-impose a ban when I lose. I don’t lose a lot of money, but when I lose, I kind of eliminate that from my life.”

He hopes his team will roll a bunch of sevens in the form of touchdowns on this visit.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.

Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal