Las Vegas Raiders Set To Be Without Offensive Lineman Kolton Miller For Multiple Weeks

Raiders Nation, put down that stress ball for a hot minute. The news on Kolton Miller’s ankle injury isn’t the apocalyptic scenario we all feared when we watched our franchise left tackle get carted off screaming like he’d stepped on a LEGO barefoot.

Miller Dodges the Season-Ending Bullet

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Here’s the deal: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport dropped the word that Miller likely suffered a high ankle sprain, not the dreaded torn ACL or broken leg that had us all reaching for the antacids during Sunday’s game against Chicago. The big guy is still getting an MRI to confirm, but early reports suggest his ligaments are intact – which, in Raiders terms, is like finding out your car needs new tires instead of a new engine.

He has been the one consistent bright spot on an offensive line that’s had more holes than Swiss cheese this season. He’s never missed more than four games in a single season, and he’s tougher than a two-dollar steak.

The Not-So-Great News

But here’s where reality slaps us harder than a defensive coordinator’s clipboard. High ankle sprains aren’t just weekend boo-boos you walk off like a stubbed toe. These suckers typically sideline players for three to six weeks, depending on how badly Miller’s ankle decided to betray him on that play.

For a Raiders team that’s already struggling to protect its quarterback and create running lanes, losing Miller is like trying to build a sandcastle during high tide. Stone Forsythe stepped in after Miller went down, and while he is a solid veteran, asking him to fill Miller’s cleats is like asking your backup singer to replace Freddie Mercury.

What This Means For Raiders Fans

The timing couldn’t be worse. The offensive line finally had a decent showing against the Bears – Geno Smith wasn’t turned into hamburger meat for once, and the running game actually resembled something you’d see in the NFL rather than a middle school scrimmage.

Now the Raiders are staring down Week 5 against Indianapolis without their anchor, and rookie Charles Grant might actually see his first NFL action. That’s either going to be a feel-good story or a horror movie, and with this team’s luck, we’re probably getting the sequel to “Friday the 13th.”

The silver lining? Miller’s injury could have been catastrophic. Instead, it is just really, really inconvenient – like getting a flat tire on your way to win the lottery. Raiders fans have endured worse (looking at you, entire 2022 season), and if anyone can weather this storm, it’s a fanbase that’s been through more ups and downs than a Six Flags roller coaster.