The Las Vegas Raiders didn't have Brock Bowers against the Miami Dolphins, and he's now described as "day-to-day."
The Las Vegas Raiders got an important win on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, and they’re hoping to get tight end Brock Bowers as they hit the road in Week 2 to take on the Los Angeles Chargers.
The reports on Bowers sound optimistic so far. He was a surprising scratch last week after he underwent followup surgery that was described as a “meniscus trim,” with coach Klint Kubiak saying the tight end would be out for “a game or two.”
Kubiak is now trying to sell the story that Bowers will be back on the field against the Chargers, as the Raiders described him as “day-to-day” in a report from Ryan McFadden of ESPN.
"[Bowers is] working his tail off to get back out on the field," Kubiak said. “It's really important to him to play as soon as possible, and that doesn't surprise me about Brock."
But the coach isn’t ready to commit just yet, as he said the Raiders “will be smart with Bowers and listen to the athletic trainers, including wellness coordinator Alex Guerrero,” per McFadden.
The surgery last week was done by Dr. Daniel Cooper, the team surgeon for the Dallas Cowboys who also performed the surgery for quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. That would seem to indicate the possibility of a longer layoff, but that’s strictly speculation at this point.
What isn’t speculation is that the Raiders will need Bowers against the Chargers this weekend. Beating the Miami Dolphins is nothing to sneeze at for a team like the Raiders, but it’s nothing special, either.
The Raiders relied on a surprisingly solid ground game against Miami, with running back Ashton Jeanty breaking 100 yards and rookie RB Mike Washington Jr. showing some of the explosiveness he displayed in the preseason.
But the Raiders also had to rely on Jeanty as a receiver, and tight end Michael Mayer supplied only 32 yards on his six receptions. The recievers didn’t get much separation at all, save for an impressive 19-yard throw from QB Kirk Cousins to receiver Tre Tucker, who was wide open in the middle of the field.
That’s where Bowers typically does his best work, and adding him in would provide some hypothetical big-play capability. Doing ground and pound on the road against the Chargers may not be a viable game plan this weekend, although the Chargers did allow retread veteran QB Jacoby Brissett to throw for 277 yards and a touchdown without an interception.
