The Las Vegas Raiders will be without starting S Marcus Epps for the rest of the season after he tore his ACL in Sunday’s ugly loss to the Carolina Panthers. Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Epps didn’t suffer any other knee damage but is out for 2024. That obviously means he’ll miss the Raiders’ Week 6 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As Pelissero notes, Epps has started all 20 games since signing with the Raiders in 2023. Last season, he recorded 66 tackles (four for a loss) with three pass breakups, though he failed to intercept a pass. Through three games this year, he was second on the team with 19 stops, only trailing ex-Steelers LB Robert Spillane and his 32 tackles.
Epps went down in the second half of yesterday’s game. It came as he broke down to make a tackle, a dreaded non-contact injury.
He finished the game with 10 tackles. Replacing him is harder to determine. Per the team’s depth chart, second-year safety Chris Smith is the next man up. But he didn’t play a defensive snap yesterday, even after Epps’ injury. Instead, Isaiah Pola-Mao, nephew of Troy Polamalu, took the field and finished out the afternoon.
Following the team’s ugly 36-22 loss to the Panthers, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce said the team would make some “business decisions” after his players made some of their own on the field. Pierce didn’t detail who he was referring to, though the Internet believes CB Jack Jones is among them, and it’s unclear what kind of changes could be made.
The Raiders are 1-2 on the season, falling to the Los Angeles Chargers and Panthers while upsetting the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2. Their defense has taken several hits, losing DE Malcolm Koonce for the year while former first-round pick Tyree Wilson has also battled injury. Offensively, the group has struggled, and Pierce told reporters he wasn’t ruling out a quarterback change. Gardner Minshew II beat out Aidan O’Connell for the job this summer but might not have many more chances to keep it.
This season, the Raiders have been one of the NFL’s worst pass defenses. Yesterday, Andy Dalton threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns against them with ex-Steelers WR Diontae Johnson catching his first score of the year.
The Steelers and Raiders play on Oct. 13 in Las Vegas. It’s a 4:05 PM/EST kickoff.
