Brock Bowers Will Miss At Least The Season Opener With A Knee Injury
Brock Bowers said in May that he felt 100 percent healthy for the first time entering Year 3 after battling a PCL injury and bone bruise throughout most of the 2025 season. He is not 100 percent healthy entering the regular season.
The Las Vegas Raiders All-Pro tight end will miss at least the Week 1 opener against the Denver Broncos on September 14 with a knee injury, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Ryan McFadden.
The nature of the injury and its severity have not been publicly disclosed. He did not suffer the injury in a game, the Raiders have not yet played a preseason or regular-season snap. He is listed as week-to-week.
The timing is particularly frustrating for a Raiders offense built around Bowers and new quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Bowers led all tight ends with 1,194 receiving yards in his rookie season in 2024, the most by any tight end in their first year in NFL history, and became the best receiving tight end in the league before the 2025 knee issue derailed his sophomore year. He returned for OTAs this spring fully healthy and was one of the most dynamic players in camp.
Michael Mayer, who filled in admirably when Bowers was out in 2025, is expected to start against Denver.
