Klint Kubiak prepared all summer for Jackson Powers-Johnson injury
The Raiders weren’t just sorting out their starting offensive line when they alternated Jackson Powers-Johnson and Caleb Rogers at right guard during training camp and the preseason.They were preparing for a situation they knew could arrive during the regular season.Klint Kubiak all but spelled it out in August.“Both of those guys are going to play this year,” the Raiders coach said.That sounded like an assessment of a competitive position battle.It also served as a reminder that the Raiders were building a plan that extended beyond naming a starter.Powers-Johnson’s injury history made having a dependable alternative a necessity.
And Rogers’ development gave the Raiders a reason to invest meaningful snaps in a young player who might eventually be asked to do far more than watch from the sideline.The rotation served both purposes.Now, with Powers-Johnson working to get healthy after suffering a groin injury Sunday against the Saints, the reasoning behind that summer approach is coming into focus.“We just keep getting him healthy and hope to get him to some practice reps this week so he can play,” Kubiak said about Powers-Johnson.Given that Powers-Johnson was unable to practice Wednesday or Thursday, the Raiders are increasingly likely to turn to Rogers.Thanks to the plan the Raiders put in place over the summer, Rogers is in good position to make it a seamless transition.Kubiak wasn’t predicting an injury in August.But he was preparing for the possibility.
Given Powers-Johnson’s history, the Raiders could not afford to treat his availability over a full season as a certainty.For all the attention paid to who would win the starting job, there was another question worth considering: Who would be ready if the starter went down?The Raiders could not afford to leave that answer to chance.Giving Rogers work alongside the starters allowed him to develop in the setting he would have to navigate if called upon.There is value in learning assignments.
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