Raiders’ DJ Hayden placed on PUP, out until October
Oakland Raiders cornerback DJ Hayden is on pace not to play football for 11 months — and that’s optimistic. The 2013 first round draft pick hasn’t practiced since May 2014, and the Raiders placed him their physically unable to perform list on Tuesday. He’ll be restricted by NFL rules not to play until October, but he could be restricted even longer by his coaches.
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Hayden was suspected to have hurt his ankle during OTAs, but an MRI revealed a stress fracture in his foot required surgery. His operation was in mid-June following minicamp.
Via CSN California, “Per NFL rules, Hayden cannot practice or play for the regular-season’s first six weeks. From that point, he has a five-week window to start practicing. Then he’d have 21 days before being activated or placed on season-ending injured reserve.”
He was expected to start for the Raiders this season, and thus it’s a crushing blow to the defense. They just lost Tarell Brown temporarily to a head injury. Like so many teams, the Raiders’ secondary is now lacking depth entering the season and the market is dry. The Raiders situation serves as a caveat for other teams not to trade or release any of their key depth players. Oakland may have to do with what they have.
When Hayden returns, he will have to earn his place in the secondary and re-acclimate through practice, defensive coordinator Jason Tarver told CSN California.
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