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          NFL Nation

          Trent Brown, Josh Jacobs and Johnathan Abram all active for Raiders

          • Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterDec 13, 2020, 08:19 PM
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              Paul Gutierrez joined NFL Nation in 2013 and serves as its Las Vegas Raiders reporter. He has a multi-platform role - writing on ESPN.com, television appearances on NFL Live and SportsCenter, and podcast and radio appearances. Before coming to ESPN, Gutierrez spent three years at CSN Bay Area as a multi-platform reporter, covering the Raiders and Oakland Athletics as well as anchoring the SportsNet Central cable news show. Gutierrez votes for the Baseball Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Professional Football Writers of America and currently serves as the PFWA's Las Vegas chapter president. He is also a member of the California Chicano News Media Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Gutierrez has authored three books: Tommy Davis' Tales from the Dodgers Dugout, 100 Things Raiders Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die and If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Raiders Sideline, Locker Room and Press Box with Lincoln Kennedy. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PGutierrezESPN
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          LAS VEGAS -- Trent Brown, the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history, will appear in just his third game of the season today for the Las Vegas Raiders as he, running back Josh Jacobs and safety Johnathan Abram are among Las Vegas' active players for its key game today against the Indianapolis Colts (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS).

          Both Jacobs, who sprained his right ankle late in the Raiders' loss at Atlanta on Nov. 29, and Abram, who was nursing a knee injury, missed last week's Raiders win at the New York Jets and had been listed by the Raiders (7-5) as questionable to play against the Colts (8-4).

          Brown, meanwhile, was not on the injury report after being lifted from the commissioner's exempt list last week following a second stint on the COVID-19 list. He last played in Week 5.

          Las Vegas coach Jon Gruden, though, said Friday that Brown, who signed a four-year, $66 million free-agent contract with the Raiders in the spring of 2019, would also be questionable.

          "He's the best in the world at what he does," Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said of his right tackle.

          Brown, plagued by a calf injury in training camp, played three snaps in the team's season-opening win at Carolina before the calf acted up. He played again in the Raiders' win at Kansas City on Oct. 11 and while he was going to play at Cleveland three weeks later, a scary pregame mishap with an IV being administered has sidelined him since.

          Jacobs has rushed for 782 yards, which was fifth-most in the NFL before he missed last week's game, and nine touchdowns. He missed three of the Raiders' last four games a year ago with a shoulder fracture suffered in Week 7 but still rushed for 1,150 yards and seven TDs as a rookie. Still, he is averaging one yard less per carry this season, 3.8 ypc in 2020 compared to 4.8 ypc in 2019.

          And Abram, who played one half of the season opener as a rookie in 2019 before a shoulder injury shut him down, has had two stints on the COVID-19 list this season while missing two games. He has two interceptions.

          "We're running out of safeties," Gruden said Friday. "Hopefully, Abram can play and stay healthy, something he hasn't done. We need him to do that to be the player that we need him to be."