Why is kicker Daniel Carlson punting for the Raiders in Week 5 vs. Colts?
Why is kicker Daniel Carlson punting for the Raiders in Week 5 vs. Colts? originally appeared on The Sporting News
The Las Vegas Raiders had to turn to their kicker for punting duties during the Week 5 game against the Indianapolis Colts .
Carlson attempted his first punt of the game in the third quarter and it went for 30 yards. That marks the first punt of his NFL career.
But Carlson did attempt 41 punts in college during his days at Auburn, with all of those coming in 2014. The Raiders kicker averaged an impressive 42 yards per attempt.
So, why is Carlson taking over punting duties? Well, as you'd expect, it's because of an injury.
In the first half of the contest against the Colts, punter A.J. Cole got injured when the Colts blocked one of his punts. The injury was to his kicking leg and the Raiders listed Cole as questionable to return with a right ankle injury.
Cole has routinely been one of the best punters in the NFL in recent years, so losing him is a big blow, especially when Las Vegas can't get anything goin on offense and needs to keep punting.
We'll see if Cole can get back in the game, but right now it doesn't look like he will.
