HENDERSON, Nev. — Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who sat out Sunday's loss at Chicago Bears with a back injury suffered the week before against the New England Patriots, returned to practice Thursday and, barring any setbacks, is on track to start Monday night at the Detroit Lions, Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said.
Garoppolo declined to get into the specifics of the injury, saying only that it was «different» than any of his previous ones.
The Raiders feared an internal injury at the time and sent him via ambulance to an area hospital to get scans of his back. Garoppolo has already missed 2½ of the Raiders' first seven games, as he also sat out Las Vegas' Week 4 loss at the Los Angeles Chargers with a concussion.
He said the start-stop-start-stop nature of his first season with the Raiders has been «different.» «Every season's kind of unique.