Anyone who has ever had a wisdom tooth removed knows it's no picnic, and that's something Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman John Jenkins recently found out.
Jenkins missed a lot of practice time during training camp, but it wasn't clear exactly what was keeping him out. It was just assumed that he was dealing with an injury.
Well, he kind of was, but it wasn't a traditional football injury. On Wednesday, he revealed that he needed to have a wisdom tooth removed. He also had to deal with dry socket, which is extremely painful.
“It was a wisdom tooth, man,” Jenkins said, according to Levi Damien of Raiders Wire. “Things happen. Wisdom tooth started acting up. Dry socket, so…that’s it. It happened. Wooh, yeah. So, everybody understands, right? Been doing this for 12 years and what takes me out is a wisdom tooth."
In Jenkins' absence, fellow defensive lineman Adam Butler saw first-team reps and managed to shine. It remains to be seen if he'll parlay that opportunity into a starting job over Jenkins, though.
"Adam Butler is continuing to make the most out of his reps and has every intention of winning the starting job next to Christian Wilkins in the interior line," Levi Edwards of Raiders.com wrote last week. "While he's known for being a formidable pass rusher, accumulating five sacks in 2023, he's been putting an emphasis throughout camp on stopping the run."
For now, Jenkins remains the favorite for the job, as he was listed as a starter on the team's first unofficial depth chart.
