The Las Vegas Raiders began the 2025 NFL season as one of the healthiest teams in the league. A lot was made about Tom Brady's close confidant, Alex Guerrero, taking over as the Wellness Coordinator in Las Vegas, and credit was given to him for avoiding major preseason injuries.
Now, however, the Raiders have been bitten by the injury bug. Not only has Brock Bowers been hampered by a knee injury since Week 1, but Eric Stokes sprained his knee last week against the Chicago Bears, and Kolton Miller was just placed on IR with a broken ankle.
Miller is obviously expected to be out for several weeks, but both Bowers and Stokes were expected to play in Week 5 against the Indianapolis Colts. Plus, with Michael Mayer returning and Jackson Powers-Johnson healthy for another week, it seemed like the gang was largely getting back together.
Brock Bowers and Maxx Crosby's injury status worsens ahead of Week 5
Unfortunately, Thursday's injury report spelled a bit of doom for Raider Nation. After being a full participant in practice last week, Bowers was limited once again on Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, he was downgraded to a non-participant, which is concerning.
On top of that, Maxx Crosby was a full participant on Wednesday, but he, too, was downgraded on Thursday to a limited participant. Although some would assume that this is just a rest day, the Raiders are calling it a knee injury. Former Raiders defensive tackle Gerald McCoy spotted this on Sunday.
"NOOOOOOOO Maxx is my boy I know his mannerism. He hurt something," McCoy posted on social media during Week 4's game. "Either his knee or ankle again. He not pushing off anymore."
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If the Raiders don't have Bowers on Sunday against a strong Colts defense, their chances of winning may be sunk. In that same vein, the Las Vegas defense will be up against it if their star is not in uniform for Week 5's contest.
Hopefully, these ailments are minor, and their changes in practice participation are just cautionary. But Raiders fans are understandably panicking as their two best players are now, for all intents and purposes, questionable for the next game.
Indianapolis is already a formidable opponent, and they'll potentially be missing stars like Kenny Moore II and Michael Pittman Jr. as well. But it seemed like the Raiders had a health advantage in Week 5, but if things don't change, they certainly won't now.