Raiders coach Klint Kubiak vows Ashton Jeanty will remain a 'big part of our team' after RB gets 2 carries vs. Jets

A bad sophomore NFL season got worse for Ashton Jeanty on Sunday.

The No. 6 pick from the 2025 NFL Draft entered Sunday’s game against the New York Jets averaging 3.3 yards per carry. Against the Jets, he was virtually locked out of Las Vegas’ run game.

Jeanty carried the ball twice for nine yards in the Raiders’ 38-33 win. Instead, it was rookie Mike Washington Jr. who took on a bell cow roll for Las Vegas. The fourth-round pick out of Arkansas carried the ball 25 times for 83 yards.

This was after Jeanty’s midweek comments calling out Jets defenders “who don’t really want to tackle.” There were no reported injury concerns for Jeanty coming into the game.

Why isn’t Jeanty carrying the ball?

After the game, head coach Klint Kubiak was asked about Jeanty being relegated out of Las Vegas’ run game. He didn’t explain the decision. He did say that Jeanty would be a part of the Raiders’ run game moving forward and denied that his decreased role Sunday had anything to do with his comments about the Jets.

“That’s my call,” Kubiak said when asked about the running back touches. “Ashton’s still gonna be a big part of our team. … He’s gonna be a huge part of our run game going forward.

“Wanted to give Mike a few more opportunities today. I think both of those guys are gonna be a huge part of our rushing and passing success.

Jeanty did contribute in the pass game Sunday with 3 catches for 64 yards. But his workload of five touches was easily his lowest of the season. His previous season low in touches arrived in a Week 5 loss to the Patriots in which he tallied 10 carries for 27 yards and three receptions for 50 yards.

Jeanty responds

Jeanty told reporters postgame Sunday that it was “communicated” to him pregame that he would get fewer carries. And he wasn’t complaining about the decreased workload in the aftermath of a win.

“We won,” Jeanty said, per ESPN’s Ryan McFadden. “It doesn’t matter how I feel about how [many] times I get the ball. Whatever it takes for the team to win, I wjust want to win. That’s all.

Jeanty’s carry load has steadily decreased since Week 1. After tallying 23 carries in Week 1, he’s posted 21, 19, 15, 10, 10, 8 and now 2 carries in subsequent games. And as of Sunday, the 2024 Heisman Trophy finalist and elite running back prospect appears to have been relegated to No. 2 on the Raiders’ depth chart behind a fourth-round rookie.

The bottom line for the Raiders is that their run game isn’t working, no matter who carries the ball. They entered Sunday ranked 31st in the league with 74.7 rushing yards per game. They tallied 95 yards against a 24th-ranked Jets rush defense while averaging just 2.9 yards per carry.