Days before the season opener against the Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers underwent what was reported as a trim of the meniscus in his left knee. He of course missed that game, but his status for Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers has been less clear.
Practices during the season are very limited in terms of what reporters can observe. But after missing practice on Wednesday and Thursday this week, Bowers was on the practice field Friday.
Levi Edwards of Raiders.com reported Bowers was "moving around" during the individual period of the session, while suggesting his status for Sunday's game seems to be "very much up in the air".
It's a definite step in the right direction as Bowers works his way back from the knee surgery. But clips from other reporters showed him not doing much of anything as other players were moving quite a bit.
All in all, before the final injury report for the week comes out, Bowers may be headed for a questionable designation to keep the Chargers guessing about if he'll play or not.
Update: Head coach Klint Kubiak told reporters Bowers will be listed as doubtful for Sunday's game, but he will work out pregame. If he can't go this week, Kubiak is optimistic Bowers will be able to play in Week 3 against the New Orleas Saints.
Raiders' Week 2 decision with Brock Bowers remains obvious
While a certain amount of gamesmanship when it comes to maintaining mystery over Bowers' status for Sunday is fine, there's also a point of unnecessary theatrics. An official doubtful designation on Friday's injury report means he has a 25 percent chance to play.
Hours before news came that Bowers had surgery, Kubiak told reporters he expected to have everyone available for the Dolphins' game. A lack of full knowledge post-surgery is one thing, but Kubiak showed he can't be trusted when it comes to telling even the vague truth about injuries. Opposing teams, not to mention everyone else, learned that very early--too early, even.
As much as it would be nice to have Bowers available against the Chargers, rushing him back into action for one game so early in the season isn't worth it when he isn't anywhere close to 100 percent. He was allowed to play through an issue with the same knee last season for multiple weeks, and it ultimately benefited nothing as losses piled up. He also never got right physically, before finally being shut down with two games left.
Friday's news about a return to practice is good in the big picture sense. But unless Bowers ended up running around like he normally would when reporters couldn't watch practice, and let's go ahead and say that didn't happen, he still should absolutely not play on Sunday.
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