Raiders Defensive Front Takes Another Blow

The Las Vegas Raiders' defense is down another defensive end in second-year edge rusher Tyree Wilson.

Oct 22, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Tyree Wilson (9) takes a breather on the sidelines against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images / Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

Going into Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Las Vegas Raiders were already short a defensive end with Malcolm Koonce, who was placed on Injured/Reserve the day before.

This opened up opportunities for other defensive players to step up and fill in Koonce's place -- Janarius Robinson, Tyree Wilson and Charles Snowden.

Then, in the first half of Sunday's game, Wilson left the game with a knee injury. The Raiders' 2023 first-round pick did not return to the game. Raider Nation was excited to see what Wilson would do with this opportunity, but just like many things for the Raiders on Sunday, it did not go as planned.

The Raiders fell to their divisional rival, the Chargers 22-10 in the first game of the season. Not only did Las Vegas lose the game, but it is still waiting to see if it will also lose Wilson for an extended amount of time.

The Raiders' defensive front was dominant for most of the game, due in large part to the play of edge rusher Maxx Crosby and defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. Robinson showed some spark on the end but did not record a tackle. Defensive end Charles Snowden, who came up from the practice squad due to Koonce's injury, played his role well.

Overall, the Raiders' defense did its job, keeping Las Vegas in the game throughout. The offense, however, put the defense in tough situations in the second half of Sunday's game.

The Raiders were already short-handed at the defensive end position going into Sunday's game. And Wilson going down early did not help them late in the contest.

When the Raiders find out more about these injuries on the defensive end front, we will see where they go from there. They have two players -- Robinson and Snowden -- who could have more opportunities to show more if the Raiders keep things the way they are with the rotation on the defensive line.

For now, the road only gets tougher for this Raiders front four as they will travel to Baltimore next Sunday to face reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.

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