Fans often get frustrated when players on their favorite team can’t suit up, but that’s nothing compared to what the players themselves feel.
Case in point: Oakland Raiders starting left tackle Donald Penn, who has been ruled out of Saturday’s AFC Wild Card Game against the Houston Texans with a knee injury.
Penn’s absence is a big blow for the Raiders, who already are without starting quarterback Derek Carr and backup Matt McGloin. Yet no one took the news harder than Penn, who sent out an exasperated tweet Friday afternoon.
Indeed, Penn hadn’t missed a single game in his NFL career until Saturday, starting all 160 regular season games and one playoff game since he entered the league in 2007. That playoff appearance came during his rookie season, too, so the 33-year-old hasn’t tasted postseason action in a decade.
Penn had an excellent 2016 campaign on Oakland’s strong offensive line. Ironically, though, the only sack he allowed all year was in Week 16 on the play that Carr broke his fibula.
The veteran offensive lineman only can hope rookie Connor Cook will lead Oakland to its first postseason win since the 2002 season. If not, it’ll be long offseason for Penn and the rest of the Raiders.
Thumbnail photo via Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY Sports Images
