The Oakland Raiders played it safe this week with Darren McFadden. The oft-injured running back sat out the Raiders' 34-26 preseason loss to the Chicago Bears on Friday night.
McFadden suffered a minor shoulder injury during last week's game against the New Orleans Saints. He did practice all week, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, but the Raiders elected not to chance fate.
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The dynamic running back never has played in more than 13 games in a season, including missing a combined 13 games the past two years.
McFadden, who's entering the final season of his rookie deal, shunned contract overtures from the Raiders' front office earlier this offseason. As the team's most talented player, McFadden presumably believes a return to a straight-ahead blocking scheme will boost his numbers this season, leading to a bigger pay day.
In order to get that pay day, he'll have to stay healthy. Missing a preseason game is a small price to help that happen.
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