The Raiders will likely be without linebacker Ben Heeney for the rest of the season. He hasn’t been formally placed on IR yet, but coach Jack Del Rio indicated that’s coming for him and tight end Lee Smith. It’s not clear exactly when Heeney suffered his injury, but a team spokesman tells the AP that Heeney is dealing with an ankle injury. 
“Both of those guys are likely to go (on IR),” Del Rio said Monday. “As they finish the work that is done on those guy with our doctors and all the experts looking at it, if we determine that the time is such that we won’t be able to get them back they could in fact go down. It’s not officially done but it’s headed in that direction,” the coach said (via Michael Wagaman of The Associated Press).
A fifth-round pick in 2015, Heeney started at middle linebacker for Oakland’s first two games this season. In Week 3, he was leapfrogged by rookie Cory James, pushing him to more of a special teams role.
James led Oakland with 15 tackles in the win over Baltimore while Heeney played mostly on special teams. Del Rio didn’t say when or how Heeney got hurt but a team spokesman confirmed that Heeney had suffered an ankle injury.
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