The Las Vegas Raiders were able to pull out a victory in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season despite not having star tight end Brock Bowers for a portion of the game. He left at the end of the third quarter with a knee injury.
Bowers told reporters after the game that he could have subbed back in if needed, but head coach Pete Carroll told reporters after the game that the training staff made the executive decision to hold him out, given the poor field conditions.
Carroll also told reporters earlier this week that Bowers looked great and he expected him to practice by the end of the week. This came to fruition on Saturday, when Bowers returned to practice ahead of the team's Week 2 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Raiders' Brock Bowers will play vs. Chargers in Week 2
His status for the game, however, was still very much up in the air. Officially listed as questionable, fans were hopeful that Bowers would be able to overcome his ailment and help lead the Raiders to victory on Monday Night Football.
Just under two hours before the game began, Las Vegas made its official announcement regarding Bowers' status. While revealing the Raiders' list of inactives for Week 2 against the Chargers, the team left off Bowers, which means that he will be active on Monday.
Bowers was aided by the fact that the Raiders played early last Sunday and did not play until late on Monday night this week. That gave him over one more full day to rest and recover for the matchup against the Chargers, who still have a two-day rest advantage over Las Vegas.
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Michael Mayer is obviously a strong contingency plan, as he played incredibly well in Week 1 against the Patriots. But no tight end can impact a game or throw defensive coordinators for a loop quite like Bowers can.
As far as the Raiders' other roster decisions for Monday, the team elevated wide receiver Alex Bachman from the practice squad once again. However, they did not elevate safety Terrell Edmunds, even though they did last week.
The rest of Las Vegas' inactives for Week 2 are as follows: Raheem Mostert, Charles Snowden, Jackson Powers-Johnson (injury), Charles Grant, J.J. Pegues, Tonka Hemingway.