Darren Waller Ruled Out for Raiders vs. Cowboys After Suffering Knee Injury

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller was ruled out of Thursday's game against the Dallas Cowboys with a shoulder injury.

Waller had two receptions for 33 yards on five targets prior to exiting.

He entered as the team's leading receiver with 51 receptions for 610 yards and two touchdowns through nine appearances.

An ankle injury kept the 2020 Pro Bowler out for Las Vegas' 33-22 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7.

Former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden raised eyebrows in September when he said Waller was the best player he had ever coached. Even though that comment was met with some skepticism, it spoke to how important he is to the offense.

Waller had a team-high 145 targets in 2020. Nelson Agholor was second with 82.

The Raiders have needed to lean on him even more following the release of Henry Ruggs III after he was involved in a fatal car crash in Las Vegas.

The franchise dropped three games in a row heading into Week 12, with what's transpiring off the field appearing to impact the players on the gridiron.

Losing Waller for more than the remainder of Sunday's game would be yet another setback for interim head coach Rich Bisaccia.

There's a big drop between Waller and his replacement, Foster Moreau, who only has 39 catches for 446 yards and 10 touchdowns midway through his third season in the NFL.