Heading into a do-or-die game against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts is no time to go losing one of your premier Pro Bowl players.
But that's exactly the situation for the Oakland Raiders this week, as they are forced to cruise the waiver wire for a replacement punter with the Colts looming and a playoff spot at stake.
The Oakland Tribune reports that punter Shane Lechler's pulled hamstring suffered in this Sunday's win over the Broncos may be worse than expected, and the Raiders are in the market for an emergency replacement.
"We’ll have to decide pretty quick how we want to attack this,’’ Raiders coach Tom Cable told the Tribune. “The severity, and what his workload can be, if anything. Once you answer those things, it can give you some direction on what needs to happen."
In other words, Lechler may be able to play Sunday with no significant setbacks. But they need a backup in case Lechler is not 100% when he wakes up Sunday morning.
The Raiders may dip into Swayze Waters, a training camp leg whom they cut in September.
Joe Kukura is a freelance writer who will resume covering this story once he's spent a little more time with the Lingerie Football League fight footage.
