When the Las Vegas Raiders drafted Brock Bowers in the 2024 NFL Draft, there was an immediate ripple effect. Despite trading up the year prior to get him, drafting Bowers also bumped 2023 second-round pick Michael Mayer down a notch on their tight end depth chart.
A tough 2024 season for Mayer was washed away heading into last season, as offensive coordinator Chip Kelly assured Raiders fans that there was room for two tight ends to function in his offense. But, like many things proved to be and with many reasons for it, Kelly's words were not backed by results.
Despite Bowers dealing with a knee injury basically all season, and missing a total of five games, Mayer had just 35 receptions in 13 games, despite playing 60% of the offensive snaps in the contests that he did play.
Mayer flashed his potential in a game that Bowers missed later in the year, as he recorded nine catches for 89 yards against the New York Giants in Week 17. The biggest takeaway from that was wondering where that had been all season, with opportunity theoretically knocking with Bowers out.
The looming arrival of Klint Kubiak as the Raiders' new head coach looks good for everyone on the offense. Kubiak has been able to coax solid production out of the tight end position as an offensive coordinator, but he's never had anyone like Bowers to center his passing game around.
This season with the Seattle Seahawks, with Kubiak, of course, serving as the offensive coordinator, he deployed "12 personnel" (two tight ends) at a lower rate than the Raiders did, according to Sumer Sports.
Entering the final year of his rookie contract under a general manager who did not draft him, Mayer might be better off and have a higher chance of realizing his potential elsewhere. Trade speculation surfaced last offseason and at the deadline, but Mayer hasn't exactly asked to be traded.
Raiders may have options to give Michael Mayer a change of scenery
But if Mayer did want out, or if the Raiders saw him as expendable, there would be no shortage of places to trade him. As he offered up three potential offseason trade targets for each NFL franchise, Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report outlined two teams that could be interested in trading for Mayer.
In alphabetical order, first up was the Carolina Panthers.
"There are a few tight ends who are probably underutilized by their current teams. Cole Kmet has been eclipsed by Colston Loveland, while Brock Bowers overshadows Michael Mayer in Vegas," Ballentine noted. "Either could lead the Panthers' tight end room and give Bryce Young a strong target to work with."
The Panthers need to find out about Bryce Young, once and for all, in short order. But, in fairness to Young, the tight end position is a notable hole in their set of skill position talent. Mayer clearly has the goods, even if he is not called upon to use them in Las Vegas.
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The second team Ballentine mentioned who could target Mayer in trade talks is the Denver Broncos, a bitter AFC West rival.
"Evan Engram will be 32 in September and wasn't as productive as Denver needed him to be," Ballentine wrote. "Targeting a younger tight end like Michael Mayer could be a cost-effective way of getting better at the position long-term.
"Mayer's production doesn't jump off the page either, but he's entering the final year of his rookie deal. Being stuck behind Brock Bowers doesn't help, and he could take on a larger role in Denver."
Similar to the Panthers, the Broncos have an uninteresting group at tight end amongst an otherwise underwhelming set of skill talent. Engram turned out to be more exciting in thought than in practice, as the "Joker" role in Sean Payton's offense didn't yield much fun. The Broncos need a real tight end.
Ideally, Mayer would team with Bowers to give the Raiders one of the top tight end duos in the league. But there's increasing evidence that that will never come to fruition. So, if the price is right and Mayer wants a change of scenery, it could be the time to set the Notre Dame product free.