HENDERSON, Nev.—It was supposed to be a time of excitement and optimism abound for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Ashton Jeanty returning to practice on Wednesday should have meant the Raiders were playing with a full deck against the Miami Dolphins in Sunday’s home opener. Sure, Brock Bowers missed the practice session, but it would not have been the first time a player got a maintenance day. All the Raiders had to do was look forward to Week One and rejoice and regroup accordingly.
That was until after practice Wednesday when the reason behind Bowers’s absence was revealed.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Bowers was not in Las Vegas, but in Dallas for a meniscus trim. The procedure’s recovery time reportedly comes with a timeframe at two weeks at the earliest, meaning the Raiders will have to navigate the start of the season without their star tight end. It comes after Bowers banged up his knee during preseason, and the extent of the injury apparently required the procedure.
Suddenly, the first game under the Klint Kubiak regime has turned into the first true test of this new-look Raiders team’s resilience under pressure.
“It’s a 17-game season,” said Raiders offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko on Thursday. “The thing that I would say is in a 17-game season, we have a 70-man roster. There’s going to be different opportunities for each and every single player on this roster at different points.”
With Bowers out against Miami and possibly longer, the question now turns into who stepped up in the absence of the perennial All-Pro.
Michael Mayer is expected to get the start in place of Bowers, while Ian Thomas should also get an expanded role with the heavy usage of 12 personnel. With the importance of the tight end position in Kubiak’s offense, both have gone from supporting roles to needing to step up in Week One.
“Mike has done a lot of things well and we try to emphasize what he does well in the run game, what he does well in the pass game,” added Janocko about Mayer.
“His route running is always improving. His blocking is always improving, hand placement, all the stuff, pad level, and then just the way he finishes each play with the ball in his hand. I think that’s something that gives us an advantage.”
While both Mayer and Thomas have expressed their condolences, with both having communicated with Bowers at different points, they are also aware of the opportunity that has fallen into their laps. With the pecking order in the passing game still largely undecided past Bowers, this is the ideal time for both players to prove that they are deserving of playing time.
“I think there’s a skill set that I can do that would be positive in a lot of offenses,” said Mayer. “I can block, I can run routes, I can know the playbook like the back of my hand. I think Klint knows exactly the type of player I am and what I’m capable of.”
“Just accepting the challenge and going out there and having my teammates trust me and getting those positions to make plays,” said Thomas about what he most looks forward to. “I’m super excited for it.”
With one more day of practice remaining between now and Sunday, the Raiders are making adjustments on the fly, and they hope the end product is good enough to get 2026 off to a 1-0 start.