Silver Minings: Raiders were significantly impacted by injuries in 2024

According to Sports Info Solutions, Las Vegas was in the top quarter of the league in terms of being impacted by injuries.

It’s no secret that the 2024 Las Vegas Raiders were significantly held back by injuries, especially on defense as the team had several starters or expected starters finish the season on injured reserve.

Recently, Daniel Griffis of Sports Info Solutions put into context how much each NFL team was impacted by injuries this past season by measuring the total points missed per game on injured reserve. The Raiders were the seventh-most impacted team in the league, according to this metric.

In the chart above, the red portion of each team’s bar is for defensive players while the blue is for offense. From the looks of it, Las Vegas’ defense had the second-most total points missed per game in the league behind only the hobbled Detroit Lions.

That isn’t too surprising considering Malcolm Koonce missed the entire season, Christian Wilkins only played in five games and Maxx Crosby was on the shelf for the final five contests. Not to mention the unit had several other injuries, including defensive backs Marcus Epps, Nate Hobbs and Jakorian Bennett.

Including offensive players, the Raiders missed roughly a touchdown per game in 2024 and had the most points per game missed in the AFC West as the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs were all at or below five points.

Hopefully, the Silver and Black can stay healthy during this upcoming season.

In Other Raiders’ Links:

• Franchise tag numbers: Silver and Black Pride dives into how much it would cost to tag key impending free agents like Tre’von Moehrig, Malcolm Koonce and Robert Spillane.
• Tetairoa McMillan film breakdown: come see what the Arizona wide receiver could bring to the Silver and Black as the top wide receiver prospect in the draft class.
• Gardner Minshew likely gone: “Minshew was terrible in 10 appearances last season and won’t be in the Raiders’ plans at quarterback,” The Athletic’s Tashan Reed wrote. “...The dead money hit would be spread across the next two seasons, with $7.82 million coming in 2025 and $3 million hitting the books in 2026.”
• Jon Gruden admits draft misses: “A lotta people criticize my draft picks, you know, ‘cause I did make some mistakes, I guess, if you want to be honest,” Gruden said with Josh Jacobs on Barstool Sports’ Gruden Goes Long podcast. “But anyone that criticizes this pick can kiss my ass. I got this one right! [In reference to Jacobs].”