The Las Vegas Raiders were expected to employ a lot of two tight end looks this season after they drafted Brock Bowers in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Of course, that’s because the team drafted the extremely talented Michael Mayer in the second round of last year’s draft.
While Mayer’s numbers as a rookie weren’t outstanding, he ended the season strongly and holds a lot of potential. He and Bowers together were expected to give opponents a ton of issues this season for the Raiders, but Mayer has missed time due to a personal issue, and now he will be out for even longer.
The Raiders placed Mayer on the non-football illness list, which will keep him out for at least the next four games, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk:
Raiders tight end Michael Mayer has missed the team’s last two games and he will miss at least four more before he’ll be able to return to action.
Mayer has been out of action for personal reasons and the Raiders placed him on the non-football illness list on Friday. Neither Mayer nor the team has provided any further information about the nature of his absence.
As was noted, no information has been given about Mayer’s absence from either the tight end himself or the Raiders organization. Personal reasons are incredibly vague and could mean any number of things, so all anyone can do is hope for the best for Mayer and give him the time he needs until he is ready to return to the team.
In the meantime, Bowers has already stepped up into a more prominent role, especially as the Raiders have also been without top receiver Davante Adams. Through six games, Bowers has totaled 37 catches for 384 yards and a touchdown and is in line to remain a prime target moving forward with Aidan O’Connell under center.
