Raiders insider drops key update on possible Michael Mayer return

A big advantage the Las Vegas Raiders were supposed to have on offense was the fact that they had two very good young tight ends. However, Michael Mayer hasn't played since Week 3 as he's dealing with a personal issue.

The Raiders recently placed him on the reserve/non-football illness list and he has to miss at least three more games. The team hasn't given any clarity on what exactly is going on with him but things appear to be getting better.

According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Raiders expect the tight end to play again this season.

"Mayer has missed the Raiders’ last three games for personal reasons," Bonsignore wrote. "The team believes things are pointed in the right direction for the 23-year-old and hope he will return at some point this year."

This is good news for the Raiders and good news for Mayer as a person. There could be any number of things going on in his personal life and it's important that he's not rushed back to the field.

That said, the Raiders could certainly use his help. The Davnate Adams trade really hurts the team's group of pass catchers. Being able to line up Brock Bowers out wide more and have Mayer fill the more traditional tight end role could really help the offense.

Regardless, Las Vegas is going to take it slow in this situation. At the end of the day, Mayer is a person before he's a football player. It's been a rough season for the Raiders already and they'd like to have their former second-round pick back on the field but also want to make sure that he's 100%.

If the season continues to trend in the wrong direction, getting the chance to experiment with what they can do with Bowers and Mayer on the field would be one of the few positives.