Devastating Hit to Raiders' DL Will Force Wilson, Others to Step Up

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Tyree Wilson must continue to step up and be a major contributor in wake of Malcolm Koonce's latest injury update.

Las Vegas Raiders DE Tyree Wilson / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

The Las Vegas Raiders were dealt a devastating blow on Friday evening, as defensive end Malcolm Koonce reportedly suffered a significant knee injury in practice and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz. 

BREAKING: #Raiders pass rusher Malcolm Koonce suffered a serious knee injury during a recent practice and will miss the entire season, per multiple sources.

A devastating blow for Koonce, who’s coming off a career-best 8 sacks and 3 forced fumbles, and was entering the final… pic.twitter.com/MH5MpAQUVY

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 20, 2024

This is awful news for the young star edge rusher, who is coming off the best season of his career with eight sacks. Koonce appeared to be the answer to who would be the Raiders’ opposite pass rusher across from Maxx Crosby. 

The veteran had already been on Injured/Reserve and had missed the first two games of the season.

Now, the Raiders must find a different answer to that question as Koonce will be sidelined for the rest of the year. 

That answer likely comes in the form of second-year man Tyree Wilson. 

It has been a trivial star to Wilson’s career. Entering his rookie season, he dealt with his own injuries, which slowed his progress as an NFL defensive end. Coming in as a raw but supremely athletic defensive end, Wilson needed his rookie year to work through his technical issues and develop as a pro. 

He was not able to have that in the offseason, so his reps came in games when the Raiders needed him to make an impact. 

For that reason, Wilson’s impact on games was minimal. He had just three and a half sacks and a Pro Football Focus grade of 47.1, which ranked 105th out of 112 defensive ends in the NFL. 

The Raiders will now lean on Wilson to step into Koonce’s role, and they hope he has the same kind of breakout season Koonce did in 2023. Can they trust that to happen? 

Along with a breakout from Wilson, the Raiders need their defensive end depth to step in and help, too. If the Raiders want to go with more of a platoon philosophy instead of sending Wilson out there for 50-60 snaps a game, they will need help from Janarius Robinson and company. 

Like Wilson, Robinson has excellent physical tools but needs to put them all together. The Raiders may also turn to Charles Snowden and the newly signed K’Lavon Chaisson to play a role. 

It is crushing for Koonce and the Raiders that he will miss the rest of the 2024 season. 

It is on Wilson to show why the Raiders drafted him so high. He must step up and perform like Koonce would have to help Las Vegas keep pace defensively.

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