It was reported over the weekend that the Raiders came close to playing Brock Bowers in week 2 against the Chargers, but the decision was made just before the game to give his surgically repaired knee another week of rest.
This week, though, it sounds like every expectation is that Bowers will be back in the lineup.
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, Bowers is expected to play against the New Orleans Saints in week 3 and the All-Pro tight end shouldn’t have many limitations.
“People in that building thought tight end Brock Bowers was moving around well in practice last Friday and had a strong chance to make his 2026 debut this week against a tough Saints defense in New Orleans,” Graziano reported on Wednesday.
“I wouldn’t expect too many limitations on Bowers’ snap count or target count right away. This honestly seems like a situation where the team wanted to be 100% certain about Bowers’ health before they put him on the field, and it sounded like they were getting pretty close to that level of certainty even heading into last week’s game. Being 2-0, of course, gives the Raiders a cushion and justifies waiting to be sure on Bowers if there’s anything at all that bothers him in practice this week. But my sense is that it’s more likely he plays this week than not.”
A day earlier, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shared a similar sentiment on Bowers.
“Expect Brock Bowers to be back on Sunday,” Rapoport said on The Insiders. “That really sounds like the plan.”
Good deal. He’ll open up the run game. Getting tired of seeing Jeanty take the handoff, walk 2 steps, then fall down.
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