The Raiders tight end Brock Bowers and Jeremy Chinn on injured reserve ahead of this week’s game against the New York Giants, with an eye on getting Bowers healthy for next year.
Bowers was named to the Pro Bowl yesterday, which seems odd given that his season has basically been a big disappointment. He injured his knee during the Raiders’ Week 1 in against the New England Patriots, then tried to come back too soon end ended up having to be shut down for multiple weeks.
Despite Bowers injury, he’s still leading the team win receptions with 64, receiving yards with 680 and touchdowns with seven. He’s caught four touchdown passes in the Raiders last four games, according to Ryan McFadden of ESPN.
Shutting Bowers down will cost him a chance to try to set a significant record, as he needs just 107 yards to pass Mike Ditka of the Chicago Bears for the most receiving yards in his fist two NFL seasons with 1,980.
As for Chinn, he’s been dealing with a back injury for multiple weeks now, but he’s been playing through it, Chinn has started all 15 games this season, and he’s had 114 tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles in a secondary that’s consistently struggled with penalties and coverage issues.
This move will have a significant impact on a game that’s extremely important to draft positions. The Raiders currently have a 36.4 percent chance to get the top pick in the draft, according to McFadden, while the Giants chances are slightly lower.
If nothing else, these two moves verify that the charade of trying to win games has come to an end. Coach Pete Carroll has insisted that these games mean something as the Raiders try to end their ongoing losing streak, which has grown to nine straight games.
Carroll also insists that he hasn’t thought much about the team’s draft position, although what he’d been told behind closed doors may be significantly different.
"I'm not really that concerned about any of that, and I don't think you want me to be. We're going to go play and play the best we can play and see what happens," Carroll said.
Whether that actually happens remains to be seen. This game is an open invitation to tank for both teams, and the absence of both Bowers and Chinn means the Giants just gained a bit of an advantage.