Oakland Raiders Tackle Menelik Watson injures knee in practice
By Bryant West
The Oakland Raiders just can’t manage to keep their offensive line healthy.
Rookie tackle Menelik Watson “tweaked” his knee in Wednesday’s practice and was removed from the field, according to Scott Blair of CSNBayArea.com. The severity of the injury is not yet known.
Watson, the 2nd round pick of the Raiders in the 2013 NFL Draft, was just days away from playing in his first NFL game but now status is in obvious doubt. Watson was expected to start at left tackle in the Raiders Week 1 matchup in Indianapolis against the Colts. He’d missed part of training camp with a calf injury, but had recovered enough to practice in the past week.
If Watson can’t go on Sunday, Blair says the Raiders will shift right tackle Khalif Barnes to left tackle and Tony Pashos would play right tackle. Pashos has only been with Oakland since signing with the team on Monday— the ten year veteran has appeared in 92 games, but was released by the Washington Redskins during their final preseason cuts.
Watson has been filling in for fourth-year veteran Jared Veldheer, the preseason presumed starter at left tackle. Veldheer tore his left triceps on August 14th and will miss part of the season.