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Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer
HENDERSON, Nev. – The Las Vegas Raiders will be without two of their best players Sunday against the Cleveland Browns as three-time first-team All-Pro receiver Davante Adams and three-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby will be inactive due to injury, Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said Friday. Pierce had no timelines for their returns, either.
Adams suffered a hamstring injury in practice Thursday and Crosby has been dealing with a left high ankle sprain suffered on the second-to-last play of the Raiders’ Week 2 win at the Baltimore Ravens.
The Raiders will also be without three other starters in linebacker Divine Deablo (oblique), right tackle Thayer Munford Jr. (knee/ankle) and tight end Michael Mayer (personal reason). Pierce said other players such as tight ends Harrison Bryant and Brock Bowers and receiver Jakobi Meyers will have to take advantage of the opportunities presented.
“But collectively, nobody needs to be Davante Adams,” Pierce said. “I don’t need another Davante. There’s only one, right? I just need the best version of Jacobi Myers.
“We’ll see what happens come Sunday, but we really feel [positive] giving these guys the last 12 hours and now today, tomorrow to get ready for the game.”
Adams has 18 catches for 209 yards and touchdown through three games. He last missed a game in 2021, with the Green Bay Packers.
It will be the first game Crosby, in his sixth NFL season, will miss in his career.
Crosby was non-committal Thursday when asked if he thought his injury could sideline him.
“I’m not worried about that right now,” said Crosby, who was hampered last week against Carolina, when he did not have a tackle for a loss and a QB hit in the same game for the first time since Week 2 of the 2023 season. “I’m just worried about today. Every single day I’m in here – first in, last out – doing everything I can to get healthy. So that’s all I’m worried about right now.
“That’s the hardest part. I mean, I play one way and when you’re not able to do certain things, it’s tough. But I did everything I can to try to produce and I feel like I did some things, some good things, but it’s tough. I have a damn Timberland boot-size wrapping on my leg and it’s, it’s tough, but at the end of the day, I don’t complain. Like I said, I’m focused on getting healthy, just taking it one day at a time.”
The Raiders lost their other starting defensive end, Malcolm Koonce, to a season-ending knee injury in practice two days before the season opener.
Tyree Wilson, last season’s first-round draft pick at No. 7 overall, is expected to play a bigger role, along with Janarius Robinson, K’Lavon Chaisson and Charles Snowden.
“Don’t worry about being Maxx Crosby,” Pierce said he told Wilson. “Don’t put a cape on. Don’t try to be 98, be No. 9. Be 97. Be 44. Be 49. And just give us your best. Don’t try to be that guy to be the hero of the game. Just be a team player, be a D-end.
“You’ve got to set the edge, set the edge. You’re dropping, you drop. If you got to go inside on the stunt, just run that career. Just do your job. And I think if we do that enough across the board, we’ll get the results we want.”