Fantasy Football Injury Impact: If Ashton Jeanty Is OUT, Is Mike Washington Jr. Or Dylan Laube The Back To Start?

Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty has been playing through ankle and foot injuries and is clearly struggling when you watch him run. He was a game-time decision in Week 5, and while he ultimately ended up playing, he carried the ball 10 times for just 27 yards at 2.7 yards per carry.

Now, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano, the Raiders are internally considering resting Jeanty for a game or a few games to get him healthy, given that they don't have a bye week until Week 13.

“He does not want to take a week off and has pushed to play through the injuries. But the Raiders' bye isn't until Week 13, and there may come a week in the near future where they decide the best thing for Jeanty and for the team is to rest him.”

The Raiders have internally discussed giving Ashton Jeanty a week off to heal at some point, per @DanGrazianoESPN

“He does not want to take a week off and has pushed to play through the injuries. But the Raiders' bye isn't until Week 13, and there may come a week in the near…
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) October 14, 2026

If that does end up being the case, we'd expect that they would rest him sooner rather than later. If that is the plan, it doesn't make sense to keep running him out there while injured before resting him. Fantasy football owners should be preparing to be without him sometime soon if he continues to struggle with injuries.

Fantasy Impact

RB Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders

It's obviously better to have Jeanty in your lineups, but resting him could be the better option for teams looking to win a championship. The sacrifice now could help him be a league-winner come playoff time. He has been visibly and statistically struggling for a few weeks now. Las Vegas giving him a week or two off would be the best thing for him, them, and fantasy owners.

RB Mike Washington Jr., Las Vegas Raiders

If Jeanty does miss time, all of a sudden it's not so clear who the running back to start would be. We still think it would be Washington; however, last week threw us off a bit. In Week 5, despite Jeanty clearly being banged up and having his snaps reduced to just 53%, when he's usually up over 80% when healthy, Washington played on just 8% of snaps and saw one carry and one target.

It was Dylan Laube who stepped up last week. That throws everything into question if Jeanty is suddenly ruled out this week or any given week.

RB Dylan Laube, Las Vegas Raiders

In Week 5, Laube saw 38% of snaps and saw four carries and caught all three of his targets. He only rushed for nine yards and a touchdown and posted 16 yards through the air, but it's still alarming if you've been holding onto Washington as Jeanty's handcuff.

It appears that the team trusts Laube more to do the other things, like pass protection, over the rookie. If Jeanty misses time, there is a real chance that this is a split backfield, and Laube could see the majority of the goal-line and passing-down work.

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