Jeanty Is Active, but Washington Jr. Keeps the Job

Ashton Jeanty's injury designation has cleared, but that doesn't automatically hand him back the backfield. I wrote last Sunday that Washington Jr. had moved from contingency to plan — and nothing since has changed that read. The foot issue lingered long enough that Las Vegas had to build its offensive rhythm around someone else, and you don't undo that kind of adjustment just because a player shows up healthy on a Wednesday.

The practical reality is that Washington Jr. earned something over these past few weeks. The Raiders went into the preseason talking about his upside in general terms; now there's actual evidence behind it. Jeanty's 2025 numbers — 975 rushing yards, five touchdowns — made him the clearest building block on this offense, and that value hasn't disappeared. But a team that spent last season losing close games because it couldn't execute when it mattered most cannot afford to disrupt whatever rhythm it has found at running back mid-week, mid-stretch.

My read: Kubiak should bring Jeanty back carefully, in a role that fits his current conditioning rather than his ceiling. Washington Jr. starts until the coaches see something in practice that tells them otherwise. The worst outcome here isn't playing it cautious with Jeanty — it's yanking the starter's role back and forth and giving neither back a chance to settle in.