Las Vegas Raiders RB Kenyan Drake to have season-ending ankle surgery

ByPaul Gutierrez ESPN logo
Monday, December 6, 2021

HENDERSON, Nev. -- Las Vegas Raiders running back Kenyan Drake will travel "in a few days" to Birmingham, Alabama, to undergo season-ending surgery on his broken right ankle, Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia said Monday in his weekly news conference.

Drake, who was carted off the field after being tackled and twisted down awkwardly from behind by Washington's Daniel Wise midway through the second quarter of the Raiders' 17-15 loss, took to Twitter Sunday night to say that the tackle that injured him "should be an illegal form of tackling like a horse collar."

Bisaccia said Monday that Drake was frustrated since he suffered a similar injury last season, when he had a high right ankle sprain in Week 7 while playing for the Arizona Cardinals against the Seattle Seahawks. He missed one game with that injury.

"When you look at the play on tape, it did not look intentional," Bisaccia said. "I think he got himself in a funky body position at the end, when he went to finish ... the guy kind of rolled him over, got his ankle caught underneath there.

"Certainly, it ended up being a roll-up position at the end."

Drake, 27, signed a two-year free-agent contract worth $14.5 million with $11 million guaranteed with the Raiders this offseason. A versatile change-of pace back to complement starter Josh Jacobs, Drake rushed for 254 yards and two touchdowns on 63 carries and caught 29 passes for 283 yards and a TD. He also returned 10 kickoffs for 192 yards for the Raiders.

The Raiders also have lost fullback Alec Ingold for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee and backup running back Jalen Richard was placed on the COVID list the morning of the Washington game.