The Oakland Raiders are heading into 2013 with high expectations after making a number of moves in the offseason and one area that appears to be an issue is the offensive line, as rookie Menelik Watson has been dealing with an injury in training camp and the preseason.
The team and general manager Reggie McKenzie expected Watson to compete for the starting position, but now that likely won't happen, as he has been dealing with an injury for all of camp. According to Golden Gate Sports, Watson has been dealing with a calf injury that happened before training camp and then when he got back on the field finally in practice, he re-injured that same calf. Watson said he was frustrated with what happened, especially after playing well in OTA workouts and said that he wants to get back on the field.
Head coach Dennis Allen said that Watson was way behind the other players since he has not been able to make it on the field yet and now he likely will stay behind Khalif Barnes until he can catch up. One player that may suffer from the loss of Watson is Darren McFadden, as he is coming into a contract year and with the team moving to a power blocking scheme, he will need all the help he can get.
Last season the Raiders ranked 28th in the league in rushing yards per game and now McFadden entering a contract year will be expected to put up big numbers. He has has problems staying healthy and has rushed for 1,000 yards only once and has not yet played in more than 13 games in any season.