The Raiders will be without defensive tackle Justin Ellis for a while, as they placed the veteran run-stuffer on injured reserve according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Veags Review-Journal (Twitter link).
The good news for Oakland is that Gehlken writes the “season [is] not considered over” for Ellis, posting in a follow-up tweet that Ellis is “expected to resume practice when first eligible in six weeks” and presumably return to the field when first eligible in eight weeks.
According to Gehlken, Ellis suffered a “foot strain” during the Raiders’ opener against the Rams. It’s a big blow to a defense that already saw its defensive front get dominated by the Rams’ offensive line on Monday night. Earlier this year, Ellis signed a three-year $15MM extension with the team, so the new regime led by Jon Gruden clearly thought highly of him.
Pro Football Focus graded him as one of the league’s better run stopping tackles last year, and the Raiders wasted no time in replacing him. They signed a pair of defensive tackles yesterday, adding Clinton McDonald as well as Johnathan Hankins.