While the Raiders hope to have running back Ashton Jeanty in the lineup against the Dolphins this Sunday, they are set to be without tight end Brock Bowers.
As NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported, Bowers will miss "a game or two" after having a meniscus trim on Tuesday.
Bowers suffered an injury during training camp, and the surgery to address the issue was scheduled last week.
The Raiders will play the Chargers on the road in Week 2 after hosting the Dolphins this weekend.
What It Means For Bowers
As ProFootballTalk.com reminded readers, Bowers played through a PCL injury for most of last season, but wound up spending the last few weeks of the year on injured reserve.
Another knee injury is a massive disappointment for fantasy investors who spent second-round draft capital to secure his services.
It's also possible he'll miss more than two weeks.
According to Footballguys injury analyst Adam Hutchison, Bowers could miss four weeks.
Recent examples of players who underwent meniscus surgeries include Jaylen Wright, who missed three and a half weeks; Jeff Wilson Jr., who missed nine weeks; Trey Benson, who missed 14 weeks; and Brandin Cooks, who missed eight games.
It's worth noting that Bowers' procedure was a trim and not a full repair. We'll be watching for more on his progress in the coming days.
Further Impact and Actionable Items
Meanwhile, this is not good news for Kirk Cousins and the offense in general.
Michael Mayer and Ian Thomas are the other tight ends, while the Raiders have Tre Tucker, Jack Bech, Jalen Nailor, Dareke Young, and sixth-round pick Malik Benson at wide receiver.
This week's matchup against the Dolphins isn't especially daunting, but it's much less interesting without Bowers.
That said, Mayer becomes a target of opportunity.
As Footballguy Sigmund Bloom pointed out in our Footballguys Live video on this story, Mayer jumps into the same tier as Juwan Johnson, Hunter Henry and Dallas Geodert as viable options for those worried about George Kittle or Tucker Kraft getting off to slow starts.
Finally, expecting head coach Klint Kubiak to lean more heavily on the run makes sense.
With Jeanty on the practice field Wednesday, the Raiders could have a full contingent of running backs with Mike Washington Jr. joining the fray as needed.
Harris was the FSWA's first-ever Football Writer of the Year back in 2004; he was inducted into that organization's Hall of Fame in 2013.
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