Out of absolutely nowhere, the Miami Dolphins‘ Week 1 task just got a lot easier.
They’re taking on the Las Vegas Raiders and their star tight end, Brock Bowers — who is apparently injured.
The Dolphins and Raiders aren’t exactly a marquee matchup to begin with, but the absence of Bowers does change the calculus for the game.
Miami will have one less weapon to plan for extensively on the defensive side, which could increase the Dolphins’ overall chances of success.
Brock Bowers Injury News
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news on Wednesday afternoon.
Bowers apparently underwent a “meniscus trim” on Tuesday and is going to miss “a game or two,” Schefter writes.
He needed the procedure after getting “banged up” in the preseason. The injury was diagnosed last week, Schefter writes.
Raiders All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers underwent a meniscus trim Tuesday in Dallas with Dr. Daniel Cooper and now is expected to miss “a game or two”, league sources told @rapsheet and me. Bowers got banged up “a little in camp” and the injury was diagnosed last week and surgery… pic.twitter.com/42ANGHbYSC
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 9, 2026
Bowers missed five games last season due to injury, so this is a brutal start to the season for the Raiders.
He had 112 catches as a rookie for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns.
In 2025, he regressed to 64 catches for 680 yards and seven TDs in 12 games — and his per-game rates were all down, too.
The Raiders will now have Michael Mayer slot in as their first-string tight end, and he’s actually quite talented, but he certainly isn’t Bowers.
Dolphins Can Shift Focus
Slowing down Bowers likely would’ve been one of the two main aspects to the Dolphins’ defensive game plan against the Raiders.
Now, they can make Mayer a smaller part of the approach and key in elsewhere.
The biggest spot to stop will be second-year running back Ashton Jeanty, who is looking to build off a solid rookie season.
The Raiders opted to start veteran Kirk Cousins at QB and not rookie Fernando Mendoza, which may limit the offensive options a tad just because of Cousins’ relative lack of mobility. That makes life a little easier on Miami, too.
The one other thing the Dolphins will have to be careful of is to not get beat deep. The Raiders will send the likes of Tre Tucker and Malik Benson down the field, and while Cousins’ arm isn’t that big anymore, he can still deliver if he recognizes a mismatch.
Not having to worry about Bowers in the middle of the field should help Miami handle the down-field attempts more easily, so this is great news for the Dolphins but a brutal shift for the Raiders.
Brock Bowers News Makes Dolphins’ Week 1 Task Easier