Good news has been few and far between for the Las Vegas Raiders this season but they may have finally gotten some. Tight end Michael Mayer hasn't played since Week 3 as he's dealt with some issues in his personal life.
While Mayer and the Raiders haven't revealed what he was going through, it was clearly very serious. For a moment, it looked like we might not see him again this season until recently. The Raiders announced that Mayer was returning to practice on Tuesday and now we even have videos of him participating.
Raiders TE Michael Mayer makes his return to Raiders practice today and catches a ball, runs the gauntlet and warms up with the team.
— Vegas Sports Today (@VegasSportsTD) November 13, 2024
🎥: By @Sean_Zittel, Vegas Sports Today#RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/CEXWv1Wz6v
The Raiders have been fine at tight end with Brock Bowers holding down the fort but Mayer is just a year removed from being a second-round pick. He was supposed to be an important part of the offense.
One person who is really excited to have him back is head coach Antonio Pierce.
"It was good to see big Mike back," Pierce said during his Wednesday press conference. "He looked good, had a little tan, so I don't know where he was at but he was hanging out somewhere good. But he looked good, he was in shape, he stayed out here this entire bye week, working out and getting himself back into football shape."
Mayer was one of the best tight end prospects to go into the NFL last season but poor quarterback play and injuries kept him from making too much of an impact as a rookie. His second season has been derailed but there's still time for him to prove that he deserves a bigger role next season.
Bowers is a superstar and he'll clearly be the TE1 going forward but the Raiders don't have great wide receivers right now. There will be plenty of opportunities for Mayer going forward. He just has to make the most of them.