One of the Raiders’ IR-return slots appears set to be used on rookie cornerback Isaiah Johnson. The fourth-round pick will return to practice this week, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets.
The Raiders will have three weeks from Monday to decide whether or not to activate him off their IR list. Should the team determine Johnson needs more time than that to recover from injury, he will revert to season-ending IR.
Johnson cannot return to a game until Oakland’s Week 9 contest, per IR-return rules. The Raiders can only activate two players from IR this season. A facial fracture shelved Johnson, who also suffered a concussion during the Silver and Black’s preseason slate.
Oakland added two cornerbacks in this year’s draft, second-rounder Trayvon Mullen and Johnson, a University of Houston product. The Raiders activated Nevin Lawson following a four-game suspension, so Johnson will further add to the team’s cornerback contingent.