Raiders designate QB Marcus Mariota to return from IR
So much has understandably been made about the email controversy regarding Jon Gruden, who resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, that some may have forgotten Gruden and company likely violated NFL rules about teams reporting injuries last month.
Raiders backup quarterback Marcus Mariota aggravated a previous quadriceps issue in the team’s Week 1 overtime win over the Baltimore Ravens and has been out of action since. As Charean Williams noted for Pro Football Talk, the Raiders designated Mariota to return from injured reserve Wednesday ahead of Sunday’s matchup at the Denver Broncos that will feature a pair of 3-2 clubs facing off less than a full week after Gruden stepped down.
Mariota rushed for 31 yards on a single play against Baltimore but was a missing man for the rest of the contest. However, the Raiders never mentioned his name on their official injury report that Monday night.
“Club personnel are responsible for reporting in-game injury information factually and accurately as soon as possible for the benefit of the network television audience and the other media covering our games,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told PFT via an email sent after the fact. “To ensure fans in the stadium have access to the same information, these injury updates must also be posted on the stadium video boards, scoreboards or ribbon boards. The in-game injury updates must be disseminated simultaneously to all parties — the network television broadcaster, the media in the press box and the fans in the stadium. In-game injury announcements to the media must be specific to a body part, accurate, and updated as warranted, including any changes to the player’s status for the remainder of the game if his status changes after the initial report.”
The Raiders could ultimately be fined for this misstep, although that’s probably the least of their worries as the halfway point of October approaches.
