HENDERSON, Nev. — Las Vegas Raiders third-year strong safety Johnathan Abram suffered a season-ending left shoulder injury in the Raiders’ 16-14 victory at the Cleveland Browns on Monday night and will undergo surgery, a source confirmed to ESPN.
NFL Network first reported the season-ending nature of the injury.
Abram suffered the injury late in the game and was replaced by Roderic Teamer, who figures to replace Abram in the starting lineup in the Raiders’ final three games — against the Denver Broncos (7-7), at the Indianapolis Colts (8-6) and against the Los Angeles Chargers (8-6) — as Las Vegas (7-7) tries to keep its playoff hopes alive.
The Raiders also placed cornerback Brandon Facyson on the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday, joining cornerback Nate Hobbs. The Raiders also placed cornerback Trayvon Mullen on injured reserve Monday.
The third of the Raiders’ three first-round picks in 2019 — Abram was selected at No. 27, behind defensive end Clelin Ferrell at No. 4 and running back Josh Jacobs at No. 24 — Abram played just one half of his rookie season as he suffered a season-ending injury to the same shoulder in his NFL debut.
After a mostly down second season, Abram benefited mightily from the arrival of new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and was impactful as a box safety against the run. Still, he remained a liability in pass coverage.
Abram, whose 116 tackles ranks second on the team and who is tied for first with one interception, had not missed a snap this season before going down with less than eight minutes to play Monday.