Unlike early last year, the Las Vegas Raiders have been somewhat bitten by the injury bug to begin the 2026 NFL season. That attrition didn't kick in until late in the last campaign. But Klint Kubiak's team has handled the adversity well so far, getting off to a 2-0 start.
But the New Orleans Saints will be no easy foe in Week 3. Luckily for the Silver and Black, they are getting some major reinforcements in this game. Before the contest, the Raiders announced their inactives, and notably, Brock Bowers was not on the list. Here are the players not suiting up:
SAF Treydan Stukes
QB Aidan O'Connell
CB Darrell Luter Jr.
SAF Dalton Johnson
DT JJ Pegues
IOL Bryce Cabeldue
The All-Pro tight end is back.
Las Vegas Raiders' full inactives list in Week 3 vs. New Orleans Saints
Bowers was close to returning in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers, as he worked out on the field before the game. But the decision-makers in Las Vegas opted against playing him due to a lack of practice that week. Ahead of the trip to New Orleans, Bowers participated much more.
Twice this week, Bowers participated in practice, albeit in a limited capacity, and then on Friday, he had a day off by design. His procedure was reportedly on September 8, which was just 19 days ago, but the Raiders' strength and training staffs clearly feel confident in him returning.
Other than Bowers being active, Stukes being inactive is quite the issue for the Las Vegas secondary. It remains to be seen what kind of tricks Rob Leonard may have up his sleeve to mitigate the loss of his best center fielder. Tristin McCollum is active and could be part of the equation.
Johnson, Pegues and Cabeldue have been inactive for all three games now, and Luter Jr. is back to being inactive after suiting up last week in the absence of Darien Porter.
O'Connell did not travel with the team and is not listed as the emergency third quarterback, so it seems that he is unavailable for Sunday following the recent passing of his father. Our thoughts remain with Aidan and his loved ones.
Tyree Wilson is a healthy scratch for the Saints vs. the Raiders
Wilson, the No. 7 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft by Las Vegas, surely had this game circled on his calendar when the schedule was released. But he won't get a shot at revenge on Sunday, as the Saints made him a healthy scratch for the Week 3 contest.
That is a brutal blow for Wilson, and it stings for the Silver and Black as well. Not only did the team fail to develop their high draft pick and trade him for pennies on the dollar earlier this offseason, but the talent evaluation was poor enough that even another team can't seem to get anything out of him.
Otherwise for New Orleans, wide receiver/return specialist Barion Brown and defensive tackle Christen Miller are out, as expected, and cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. will not suit up. He was listed as questionable before the matchup.
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