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As the Oakland Raiders try to move forward from Punch-Gate and put together their first winning season since Jerry Rice was their leading receiver, they have already received some more bad news. Chaz Schilens, who was definitely shaping up as their best receiver, has suffered a relatively serious injury. According to FanHouse's Nancy Gay (via e-mail), who is in Raiders camp today, Schilens has a fractured 5th metatarsal bone in his left foot. He currently has a boot on it. There is no word yet on if he'll require surgery.
Foot injuries in football, especially to people who need to use their speed (like, say wide receivers?), are awfully troublesome. A normal timetable is somewhere in the 4-to-8 week range, but we don't know enough to even speculate yet.
David White of the San Francisco Chronicle, though, tweeted this: "Schilens says he'll play opener 'if God does a miracle.' Not what fans want to hear from their No. 1 receiver."
Ouch. The hits just keep on coming in Oakland training camp.
Schilens had endeared himself to Raider Nation with a good close to last season -- his rookie year -- and had reportedly been a force in the offseason. The Raiders expected him to continue his growth and emerge as their top option in the passing game this season.
So, yeah, it's a big blow to the Raiders. They'll need someone from the group of Javon Walker, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Louis Murphy to step up until Schilens can make a full recovery. In fact, they'll need two from that group to separate themselves in order to properly balance out what looks to be a fierce running game.
Fantasy Spin:
This is really bad news for people looking to snag Schilens as a late value-pick. We really liked him to step up and have a productive season. Now, it appears he won't be able to play until a few weeks into the season, plus, he may not be full speed until even deeper into the season.
JaMarcus Russell's already very small fantasy value takes a slight hit. Expect Zach Miller and Darren McFadden to see an increase in targets, since the Raiders need to throw where it's reliable (think about the Bears last season, when a running back and tight end were the top two pass-catchers).
For the receivers, do give a boost in value to Higgins as one of the late round grabs in place of Schilens. In yearly leagues, it's best to avoid the other guys unless you play in insanely deep leagues (like 24-teamers). In that case, Heyward-Bey, Walker, Murphy is how they'd be ordered.
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