Coming into this season, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers was expected to be a major piece of this offense as he established himself as one of the best playmakers at his position in his rookie season. Unfortunately, Bowers suffered a knee injury in Week 1 and has struggled ever since.
Bowers initially tried to play through the injury, but was clearly not himself, totaling just 122 yards in the next three contests after he had 103 yards in the season opener. The tight end has since sat out the Raiders’ last two games, and it seems likely he will miss this week’s contest against the Kansas City Chiefs as well.
Head coach Pete Carroll spoke about Bowers’ potential availability, saying that while he is optimistic, it might be better long-term for the tight end to sit out Week 7 with the Raiders’ bye week coming up after which would give Bowers a full month off to recover, via Jesse Merrick of the Silver & Black Sports Network:
#Raiders Coach Pete Carroll on Brock Bowers
“There’s a big BYE coming up…You look the long haul of it, it might be best to guarantee that he’s full speed and back”
Likely won’t see their star tight end till after the bye week pic.twitter.com/y7BrWi9l4v
— Jesse Merrick – Silver & Black Sports Network (@JesseSBSN) October 13, 2025
The thought process makes a lot of sense. Obviously, the Raiders are a much better team with Bowers in the lineup, but only if he is healthy. Bowers suiting up while not at 100% clearly limits the impact he can have for this team, while also putting himself at greater risk of worsening his knee issue and keeping him limited even longer during the season.
With the bye week coming up, giving Bowers as much time to recover as possible could be best for both the tight end and the Raiders, as he could be 100% for the second half of the season as they look to turn the season around.
Ashton Jeanty says Raiders offense is better when they establish the run
The hope for the Raiders this season was that Brock Bowers would pair with rookie running back Ashton Jeanty to give them arguably the best young offensive duo in the league. That can still be the case going forward once Bowers is healthy, but regardless of who is on the field, Jeanty believes the Raiders offense as a whole is better when they establish and are efficient in the run game.
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