Las Vegas loses another defensive starter

The Las Vegas Raiders’ ugly home loss to the Carolina Panthers got even more painful as the team has reportedly lost another defensive starter for the season.

NFL Media reported Monday afternoon that Las Vegas starting safety Marcus Epps tore the ACL in his knee in Sunday’s 36-22 loss to Carolina. He badly limped off the field and went to the locker room and did not return.

Epps signed as a free agent last year and had a strong first season with the Raiders. He was considered a defensive leader and coaches credited him for his communication skills on the field.

Third-year player Isaiah Pola-Mao replaced Epps on Sunday and he is line to be the starter with fellow safety Tre’von Moehrig for the rest of the season. The Raiders may look to add some depth at the position. Their current backups are Chris Smith and undratfed rookie Thomas Harper. Seventh-round pick Trey Taylor is on the injured reserve and he is eligible to return net week if healthy.

Epps is a free agent in March and there was some speculation the Raiders would try to extend him this year. Last week, it was reported that starting defensive end Malcolm Koonce would be out for the season. Koonce, who is also a free agent in March, was injured in practice three days before the season opener.

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Raiders Key Defender Suffers Torn ACL, Done For Season

After a hard-fought battle defensively in Week 1 against the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers and pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the season thus far against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, the Las Vegas Raiders were thought to cruise to victory with relative ease in their home opener against the lowly Carolina Panthers in Week 3.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, the complete opposite happened on Sunday, with Antonio Pierce’s squad falling apart bit by bit over the course of four quarters against a Panthers team led by veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, who took over as the starter for Bryce Young.

Even though the Panthers looked like the worst team in the league coming into this game against one of the best defenses in the NFL, Maxx Crosby and company couldn’t seem to figure out how to stop Carolina from scoring, resulting in a 14-point blowout, which probably should’ve been much worse than that.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Raiders will not have safety Marcus Epps for the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL.