Raiders Pro Bowl Defender Misses Another Practice Ahead of Broncos Tilt

An absent Maxx Crosby would certainly help the Denver Broncos' Week 5 outlook.

Oct 17, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) reacts after a play in the second quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders are coming to town, and they're banged up. The Denver Broncos are battered and bruised, too, but the Raiders have been missing arguably their best offensive and defensive player.

On Thursday, Las Vegas got some good news, with left tackle Kolton Miller returning to practice after missing Wednesday's session. But conspicuously absent from the Raiders' participation report were wide receiver Davante Adams and, perhaps most crucially, defensive end Maxx Crosby.

The reporting on Adams has him missing Week 5's head-to-head tilt vs. Patrick Surtain II. But Crosby's status is the one Mile High Huddle will scrutinized daily throughout the week.

The Pro Bowler is dealing with an ankle injury, and although he's expressed hope of returning for Week 5, missing the first two days of practice ahead of the game isn't the most positive harbinger. According to The Athletic's Tashan Reed, Crosby worked on the side with Raiders trainers on Wednesday, so he was out there, and he's likely champing at the bit to play this week.

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Now, it's not definitive, as teams will often rest players on Wednesday and Thursday before having them give it a go on Friday to test things out. Said player will often be limited during Friday's practice, depending on the severity of his injury, which usually leads to a 'questionable' final designation for the game. A full-go participation on Friday almost always means the player will be on the field come gameday.

So, for Broncos fans who are sick of Crosby and the Raiders' eight-game winning streak, Friday's final injury report for Week 5 will likely be the determining factor. Even still, sometimes a player will DNP (did not participate) on Friday, rest Saturday, then give it a go during pre-game warmups and feel good enough to play.

But this early in the season, the Raiders will want to play it smart with Crosby. As important as this AFC West rivalry game is, it's Week 5. There's a long row left to hoe and the Raiders won't want to do anything that unduly risks Crosby's potential for being in the trenches in the what remains of this 18-week war of attrition.

Crosby has wreaked a lot of havoc on the Broncos by pass-rushing off the right side. He's likely licking his chops at the prospect of facing Broncos right tackle Alex Palczewski, who's only got a couple of NFL starts under his belt.

Outside the of the three starters the Broncos have sent to injured reserve since the season started, the team is mostly healthy. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the show?

Running back Tyler Badie's status will be worth monitoring after he suffered a scary back injury at MetLife Stadium last week, collapsed, and was carted off the field. Broncos head coach Sean Payton said on Tuesday that Badie could "possibly" end up on IR.

Denver received excellent contributions from both Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin last week, but with rookie fifth-rounder Audric Estime on IR, look for Blake Watson to garner some touches in relief of the top two backs on the depth chart. Watson is an undrafted rookie out of Memphis.

The Broncos also signed running back Salvon Ahmed to the practice squad earlier this week. It wouldn't be a shock to see him elevated on Sunday, but he might need at least a week before Payton feels comfortable including Ahmed.

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