The Las Vegas Raiders have been dealt a critical blow right before their Week 1 action, as they will be without star tight end Brock Bowers after he underwent a procedure to clean up a meniscus injury. The good news is that the initial expectation is that Bowers will only miss a week or two of action, but his absence will obviously be felt in a big way for the Raiders.
Bowers’ injury situation has certainly come from out of nowhere, but if he only misses two games, it certainly wouldn’t be the end of the world. However, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter, the injury timeline for Bowers has come from him and his people, which led him to suggest that he could potentially miss more than the first game or two of the year.
Brock Bowers Injury Timeline May Run Longer Than Expected
Just hours before Bowers’ injury news surfaced, head coach Klint Kubiak seemed to indicate that he was expecting him to play in Week 1. Now, he’s going to miss some time, as he underwent a procedure to trim his meniscus, which should allow him to return at some point this season. However, the recovery typically takes longer than one to two weeks.
Bowers seems to believe he can make a speedy return, though, and Las Vegas is going to give him the chance to do so. Considering how important he is to the team’s passing game, especially with a less-than-stellar wide receiver room in tow, the Raiders almost need Bowers to make it back in light speed in order for his absence to not hurt them.
The problem is that the aforementioned injury timeline has come from Bowers, and his team is running with it. When discussing the situation, NFL insider Adam Schefter of ESPN expressed skepticism that Bowers could actually only miss a game or two, as he seemed to imply the belief is that this will hold him out for a more extensive period of time.
“The one-to-two-week projection is coming essentially from him and people around him. That’s what they believe,” Schefter said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “A player, they’re always going to downplay it, because they’re gonna want you to think they can come back sooner. He probably thinks he can come back in a week or two … Well, that may be what he thinks, but let’s see how it actually goes.”
Raiders Must Brace for Longer-Than-Expected Brock Bowers Injury Absence
Bowers clearly believes he can make a speedy recovery, but whether or not he actually can is still up in the air. He only underwent the procedure a couple of days ago, so a one-to-two-week recovery would be quite aggressive. With the Raiders not having very high expectations for this season, it may not make much sense to rush Bowers back just for the sake of doing so.
At the very least, Bowers’ injury status will remain worth watching, but in the meantime, Michael Mayer is going to fill in as the starting tight end. Bowers won’t be playing in Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins, and by this time next week, we will have a much clearer picture as to whether or not he will actually have a shot at playing in Week 2.
Insider Drops Truth Bomb on Brock Bowers’ Injury Timeline for Raiders