Kubiak rules out resting Ashton Jeanty as the back practices in full

Klint Kubiak spent part of Wednesday killing a story that had barely aged a day. ESPN's Dan Graziano reported that the Raiders had internally discussed giving Ashton Jeanty a week off to let his ankle and foot settle down. Asked about it that afternoon, the head coach shut the idea down.

"He's playing," Kubiak said, per Sam Warren of The Athletic. "He's starting to feel a lot better physically. I'm excited about giving him even more reps in practice and more full-speed reps."

The practice sheet backed him up. The team's official Week 6 injury report lists Jeanty as a full participant Wednesday, and CBS Sports reported Kubiak saying there had been no discussions about resting him at all.

Read it as a balance sheet and availability was never the line item in trouble. Jeanty has 88 carries for 291 yards, which is 3.3 a pop, plus 22 catches for 215 yards and two touchdowns, both of them in the opener against Miami. He has not topped 58 rushing yards in any of the four games since. In Sunday's 45-17 loss at New England he carried 10 times for 27 yards on 32 of 60 snaps.

Opinion: resting him would have treated a symptom. The Raiders are 3-2 on a two-game slide, and the run game is leaking at the line more than behind the back. Sitting your second-year centerpiece for a week fixes nothing that a healthier interior does not fix first.

Elsewhere on the report, Brock Bowers was limited with a knee, Tonka Hemingway and Jalen Nailor sat out with concussions, and guards Spencer Burford and Trey Zuhn III carried knee entries. Tight end Carter Runyon practiced for the first time since landing on injured reserve on Aug. 30, and Dont'e Thornton Jr. went full.

The quarterback question has not gone away either. Kubiak confirmed Monday that Kirk Cousins starts Sunday, though Pro Football Rumors relayed Vincent Bonsignore's reporting that conversations about moving to No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza are starting to form inside the building.

Buffalo arrives Sunday at 1:25 p.m. Pacific at 4-1, tied for the league lead at 32.8 points a game and carrying nine giveaways over its last three. Watch whether a Raiders defense that leads the NFL with 11 forced fumbles can start cashing those again, and whether Jeanty's workload Sunday looks anything like a man who was almost rested.