Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden continued to sit out from practice as he was sidelined on Thursday as the team prepares for their Week 13 contest with the Miami Dolphins. Michael Bush will once again start at running back and with Taiwan Jones still sidelined with a hamstring injury, Marcel Reece will likely be the primary backup.
McFadden has one more chance to get some practice in on Friday, but odds are high that he will sit out once again. At that point, the question becomes whether Raiders fans will see him back next week leading up to the Packers game. The Raiders want to get him 100% healthy and it is tough to tell whether that means he will be able to get back in time for the Week 14 showdown with the Packers.
I would not be surprised to see McFadden start to get in some practices next week, but I would actually be surprised if he played against the Green Bay Packers. The weather projection for December 11 is high 20s/low 30s, which would not seem ideal for returning from any sort of injury. The Raiders might try to get him a few carries in the game behind Bush, but I just do not see that happening.
If that is the case, McFadden could be looking at a Week 15 return on December 8 against the Detroit Lions in Oakland. If that is the case, I would imagine they will work him back in slowly, splitting carries with Michael Bush. McFadden is seemingly their number one guy so the goal would be to get him back to the full load, but with Bush playing so well in his place, the Raiders will want to figure out a way to keep Bush prominently involved in the offense. As for years' beyond given Bush's free agency status? Well, that's a whole other question.