According to a report, Oakland Raiders guard Kelechi Osemele will miss Thursday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs with an illness.
A huge battle between the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs could go a long way in deciding the AFC West and the playoff race on Thursday Night Football. This is the second meeting between the two teams this season after the Chiefs took the first meeting on the road in Oakland. With the Raiders not wanting the Chiefs to get another game on them, winning is a must on Thursday. It looks like they will be without star guard Kelechi Osemele however.
According to Ian Rapoport, Osemele is battling illness and was a late scratch. That means that the Raiders are losing a key member to their offensive line before a huge divisional battle against the Chiefs on the road.
Big news for the #Raiders & it's not good: Standout G Kelechi Osemele is a late scratch due to illness.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 8, 2016
Vadal Alexander is the backup for the Raiders and they will hope that he can at least hold down his spot on the line. With the Chiefs boasting plenty of pass rush ability and players that can penetrate from the defensive line, Alexander is going to have to play his best football on the road.
It’s also important that he’s in tune with the rest of his offensive line. With Arrowhead Stadium being incredibly loud, false starts can and will happen. The silver lining here is that it’s not something that will linger on for Osemele like an injury would.
It just happened to come at probably the worst time for the team. Derek Carr will have to be ready to get the football out quick against Kansas City and hope the men up front can give some push for the run game to get going.