BREAKING: More Bad News For Raiders Defensive Star

The Las Vegas Raiders were already reeling from the surprise loss of defensive end Malcolm Koonce. Now he will be out for longer ...

Las Vegas Raiders DE Malcolm Koonce / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

It was already a big loss going into Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Defensive end Malcolm Koonce's injury meant the Las Vegas Raiders would be without a key pass rusher opposite All-Pro Maxx Crosby.

Tough news when facing an elite quarterback like Justin Herbert. Now, the news is even worse. Koonce was placed on injured reserve on Saturday, meaning he will miss a minimum of four games.

Last year, Koonce emerged as a rising impact-player, registering eight sacks and exhibiting tons of growth. Head coach Antonio Pierce announced the bad news on Friday.

"Next-man-up mentality," Pierce told reporters. "Good thing about it, Tyree Wilson and J Rob [Janarius Robinson], those guys have had a lot of opportunities to play, and we expect them to step up and play well."

Second-year defensive lineman Tyree Wilson said he is ready to step up.

"I've been practicing for my moment. I hate it. Malcolm's my brother," Wilson said. "But this is the start of the season so I've got to go out there and represent, like he would want me to. ... This training camp was great. Actually getting to work on fundamentals and being able to know different formations and backfield sets that helped me get the edge on the offense. So this training camp was way different than last year.

"II was there on the field with [Koonce] when he went down. I prayed that it wasn't a major injury, but this game, you've got to keep moving forward. So, we've got a game this week and that's my focus."

Defensive end Janarius Robinson shared his thoughts on the situation.

"It's always tough to see a brother, a teammate of yours, go down," Robinson said. "But we all prepare every day and go into practice and meetings and prepare to be in that role, just in case something happens. And, unfortunately, this is what happened, and we've got to step in those shoes and fill that role of Malcolm and put on our best game for him."

The Raiders will take on the Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. PST/4:05 p.m. EST.

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