HENDERSON, Nev. — Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, who leads the NFL with 1,402 rushing yards but suffered a “nasty” injury to his right pinky finger last week and is wearing a brace, said Friday he plans on playing Sunday against the New England Patriots.
“My finger went out,” Jacobs said of the play, when he extended his hand to land on the artificial turf of SoFi Field against the Los Angeles Rams, “and my hand went the other way.”
Jacobs, who said he has been catching passes in practice from quarterback Derek Carr and has yet to drop one, said the plan is to “probably cast it a little bit, wrap it up and then see how it goes from there.”
Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said earlier in the day the Raiders would “limit” Jacobs if they had to against New England. Jacobs, who was limited in practice all week and wore a red non-contact jersey in practice Wednesday and Thursday, is officially listed as questionable.
Still, while Jacobs acknowledged he was not yet sure how his hand would affect him in a game situation since he yet to be hit in practice, he said he could not think about the injury heading into the game.
“Once you do that, that’s when you’re doing too much, and that’s when you fumble or that’s when you get hurt because you’re overly thinking about it,” he said. “I’m just going to go back and do business as business is done, for real, and see how it goes.
“I can hold the ball, so we’ll see once I get hit on it a couple of times.”
Jacobs returned to the Rams game after being injured and having his pinky taped to his ring finger, and the first play was for him to throw a pass. He laughed when he said he was surprised at the call.
“Yeah, man, I was kinda just like, Yeah, I knew I wasn’t throwing that ball when I got in,” he said.
Jacobs is also nursing a sore right quad after recovering from a strained left calf, injuries that have all popped up over the last few weeks.
“I was due for it,” he said. “I went 10, 11 good weeks before anything so, it was bound to happen eventually.”
Jacobs, who is in a contract year after the Raiders declined to pick up his fifth-year option this offseason, was also named a team captain by the existing captains Friday morning and called it a “great honor” to be recognized by his teammates. He was a captain in 2021.
“But for me, personally, I don’t think it really changes the way I go about my business,” he said. “I just come in and work and I lead how I lead and I just plan on continuing doing the same thing.
“I’ve already been leading. Talking and leading by example.”
As far as the play when he was injured, Jacobs said he has yet to see a replay of it, but “low key” wants to watch it.
“Everybody keeps telling me the video is nasty,” he said. “It probably was because it felt like, yeah, it felt bad.”
The Raiders could also regain the services of tight end Darren Waller and slot receiver Hunter Renfrow as the Pro Bowlers were activated off injured reserve to practice on Wednesday. Las Vegas would have to activate them to the active roster Saturday for them to play against New England.