Oakland Raiders safety Charles Woodson practiced with his teammates on Thursday, and is pushing to play this Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, according to ESPN's Bill Williamson.
Woodson suffered a dislocated shoulder injury against the Cincinnati Bengals last week, but despite his injury he has been campaigning to play this Sunday, according to Scott Bair of csnbayarea.com. Woodson has not missed a game since rejoining the Raiders in 2013.
Woodson is a huge player for the Raiders, last season he had a combined 112 tackles and four interceptions. Before the injury, against the Bengals Woodson had already recorded seven combined tackles, but it didn't make much of a difference, as the Bengals blew out the Raiders, 33-13.
The Baltimore Ravens will be coming to Oakland this weekend and quarterback Joe Flacco is going to want to throw the deep ball.
"We need to take our shots," said Flacco, via the Baltimore Sun. Flacco didn't throw to many deep balls against the Denver Broncos, but he is likely to attempt some deep throws against the Raiders defense.
This is why Woodson's health is key to the Raiders defense this weekend. Not only is he a great player, but he is a leader. This is his 18th season in the NFL, and he helps his team by reading offenses and lining his teammates up in the right spot. Without Woodson, the safety positions would likely be filled by newly acquired Taylor Mays, and Larry Asante filling in for Nate Allen.
Allen is on short-term injured reserve and if Woodson can't go this weekend, Flacco and the Ravens will look to take advantage.
Woodson is tough, especially trying to play with a shoulder injury. The major concern for Woodson is that he could re-injure that shoulder going for a tackle on Sunday.
