Arguably, the lone bright offensive spot for the Las Vegas Raiders so far this season has been rookie tight end Brock Bowers. Coincidentally, many questioned why the Raiders drafted him as they took Michael Mayer in the second round of last year’s draft, and he showed a lot of potential down the stretch of last season.
Mayer appeared in the first three games of the season but garnered just seven total targets. Since then, he has been away from the team for personal reasons, but the exact details have yet to be revealed. There were some rumblings that it may have been due to his diminished role within the Raiders offense, but nothing has been confirmed.
Whatever the reasoning, it is now looking as if the Raiders will have Mayer back on the field soon as head coach Antonio Pierce revealed that he believes they are getting close to a return for the second-year tight end, via ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez:
Even with Bowers dominating, getting Mayer back on the field would give the Raiders offense a boost as the team is in dire need of more pass catchers. Mayer isn’t the explosive option that Bowers is, but he is extremely reliable, sure-handed and can at least give the defense another player they need to account for.
Exactly why Mayer has been away from the Raiders is anyone’s guess, but having him back on the field is a positive for the Raiders in every way. The offense is struggling. There is no way around it. Mayer coming back won’t fix all of the problems on that end, but it will at least provide another weapon for Gardner Minshew or whoever else is at quarterback.
Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers making history
While Michael Mayer has been away from the team, Brock Bowers has been busy carrying the Raiders offense and even making NFL history along the way.
Bowers surpassed Denver Broncos legend Keith Jackson for the most receptions by a rookie tight end in his first seven career games. So far, through eight games, Bowers leads all tight ends with 52 receptions for 535 yards, though he hasn’t had much luck at getting in the end zone with just one touchdown.
