Raiders’ Lonnie Johnson Jr. hopes to make season debut Thursday at Denver

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. will be activated off injured reserve and could make his season debut Thursday night at Denver.

Johnson broke his right leg during a training camp scrimmage Aug. 2 at Allegiant Stadium. He returned to practice Oct. 27 to begin the 21-day window for when the Raiders could activate him.

Now Johnson could play in what is a short week for his teammates, who lost 30-29 in overtime Sunday to Jacksonville. The injury report lists him as questionable, but he has been a full participant in practice all week.

Johnson sounded confident he would take the field.

“It’s been a long time for me,” he said Wednesday. “Ain’t nothing short, but it’s shorter for them. Just getting mentally prepared for it. I’ve got the fresh legs, obviously.”

Johnson likely will be used in the nickel packages with fellow safeties Isaiah Pola-Mao and Jeremy Chinn.

“We’re all interchangeable,” Johnson said. “I can play nickel and Chinn can go to safety or (Pola-Mao) can go to nickel and vice versa. We can all move around and it’s not too much.”

Johnson is in his seventh year and hopes he can use the rest of the season to establish a more permanent home after having played for four other organizations.

“We’ve got to get him back out there,” coach Pete Carroll said before the injury report was released. “It’s been quite a while for him, so this will be his first full-speed live action. We’ll look after him and make sure we’re monitoring him well to see how he’s handling things, but we’re really excited to have him back. It’s unfortunate for him it’s a short week, but in the coming weeks, I expect him to be a big factor.”

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