Raiders RB Latavius Murray (concussion) expected to play

ByBill Williamson ESPN logo
Monday, November 16, 2015

Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said Monday that starting tailback Latavius Murray was progressing well in the early steps of the concussion protocol.

Murray suffered a concussion in the third quarter of a 38-35 loss at Pittsburgh on Sunday. Murray left the game after being hit by Steelers (and former Raiders) safety Mike Mitchell. Murray slumped to the ground and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Pittsburgh. He did not return to the game.

Del Rio was confident Monday that Murray would recover quickly.

"It looks like he is going to bounce back fine," Del Rio said of Murray, who is sixth in the NFL with 630 rushing yards.

Murray will have to pass all concussion tests before being cleared to play in Oakland's home game Sunday against Minnesota.

Meanwhile, Del Rio said center Rodney Hudson left Sunday's game in the fourth quarter with a sprained ankle. Del Rio said the team will monitor Hudson's progress throughout the week. Hudson, who signed a five-year, $44 million deal as a free agent from Kansas City this year, was replaced by little-used Tony Bergstrom.

Also, as expected, Del Rio said Monday that he expects safety Nate Allen to play against the Vikings. Allen has been on injured reserve with the designation to return since Week 1 because of a knee injury. Allen has been practicing for the past two weeks and should be brought back to the 53-man roster this week.

Defensive back TJ Carrie is also expected to play against the Vikings. Carrie missed the Pittsburgh game with shoulder and hip injuries. Carrie moved to safety from cornerback in Week 3. With Allen returning, Carrie will likely move back to cornerback.

Allen and Carrie will be more than welcomed back to a Raiders defense that allowed a franchise-high 597 yards of offense to the Steelers, including 284 receiving yards to Antonio Brown.