Brock Bowers: Everything you need to know

Bowers (knee) is participating in OTAs this week, Ryan McFadden of ESPN.com reports. Bowers -- who noted Thursday that he's "practicing full speed" -- originally injured his knee in Week 1 against the Patriots last season and dealt with the issue all year, missing Weeks 5-7 before being shut down for Weeks 17 and 18 in a lost campaign for Las Vegas. Bowers -- who remains a top tier fantasy option at the TE position -- appeared in 12 games in his second NFL season and finished with 64 catches for 680 yards and seven touchdowns on 86 targets. He'll now be catching passes from Kirk Cousins and No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza this summer, as the two quarterbacks are in a competition for the Week 1 job.

The Raiders placed Bowers (knee) on injured reserve Wednesday. Bowers kicked off his second pro campaign by suffering a knee injury Week 1, and while he eventually sat out Weeks 5-7, he surpassed 100 receiving yards only one more time through Week 16. Now that his season is officially over, he'll finish it with a 64-680-7 line on 86 targets in 12 contests. Bowers will yield TE reps to Michael Mayer, Ian Thomas and Carter Runyon for the final two games.

The Raiders plan to place Bowers (knee) on IR ahead of Sunday's game against the Giants, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. Bowers has been managing a knee injury since Week 1, and with the Raiders out of playoff contention, the team has evidently decided to shut down the star TE, with an eye toward him being 100 percent ahead of the 2026 season. With Bowers' placement on IR in line to occur at some point Wednesday per Pelissero, Michael Mayer is slated to lead Las Vegas' TE corps in Weeks 17 and 18, with Ian Thomas and Carter Runyon also in the mix.