Raiders' Javon Walker Injured in Robbery

Oakland Raiders WR1 Javon Walker was found unconscious on a Las Vegas street yesterday.  Unlike most people found unconscious on a Las Vegas street at 7 in the morning, he was apparently the victim of a violent robbery.  

Police spokesman Bill Cassell said in a statement that Walker was taken to a hospital with "significant injuries" after being found early Monday on a street off the Las Vegas Strip.

 

Cassell said Walker remained in fair condition at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.

 

A Raiders spokesman said the team was "in the process of gathering information" and had no further comment.

 

Walker signed a six-year, $55 million deal with the Raiders after being released by the Denver Broncos in February.

Hopefully Walker’s injuries are less serious than originally believed and that he recovers fully.  I realize that Walker may have serious injuries that go beyond whether or not he can play football, but this is a fantasy sports blog so I’m going to go there.

If Walker misses any time this season, the Raiders are in (even more) serious trouble.  The Raiders paid Walker a lot of money to be the veteran receiver that the inexperienced JaMarcus Russell needs to develop.   You can argue about whether or not Walker is right for that position, but he’s the guy they have and the Raiders have nobody else even close to being able to replace him.  The underwhelming Ronald Curry and the former Panther Drew Carter are the only WRs on the roster with more than two years in the league.  I don’t care how good Darren McFadden is supposed to be, he’s not going to be a success if opposing defenses can practically ignore the passing game.  

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Raiders were suddenly in the market for a veteran wide receiver.  Stay tuned.