brock bowers
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Las Vegas Raiders TE Brock Bowers.
The Las Vegas Raiders had their first big injury scare of the season in Week 1, when tight end Brock Bowers had to leave the game early due to a knee issue. He missed Thursday and Friday’s practices, which put his stats for Week 2 in question.
Luckily for the team, they play on Monday Football, so Bowers has more time to get healthy. The All-Pro returned to practice on Saturday, and according to head coach Pete Carroll, he looked “terrific.”
Carroll also revealed in his Saturday press conference that the plan is for Bowers to play. This is huge news for the Raiders. Bowers is arguably their best player and had five catches for 103 yards in Week 1 despite leaving the game early.
The Raiders are hosting the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2, so not having Bowers would’ve been a massive blow. Now, it remains to be seen exactly how involved Bowers will be. The team isn’t going to risk hurting his knee further this early in the season.
It’s possible that Michael Mayer will be TE1 for Week 2, while Bowers is in more of a supporting role. Regardless, having him on the field at all will be a good thing for Las Vegas.
Elandon Roberts Likely Playing, Jackson Powers-Johnson Missing Practice
Starting linebacker Elandon Roberts was the other big injury from Week 1, but he also returned to practice. According to Carroll, he will likely play in Week 2, but his injury appears more serious than Bowers’, so he’ll be a player to watch.
Starting right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson popped up on the injury report on Friday due to a concussion. He also didn’t practice on Saturday. Carroll noted that Powers-Johnson suffered the injury in practice on Thursday.
Powers-Johnson has a history of dealing with concussion issues, so it’s hard to imagine he’ll play on Monday. Carroll said that backup guard Alex Cappa is ready to play if Powers-Johnson is out.
Carroll Talks Monday Night Football
The Raiders’ home opener is also their first primetime game of the season. While a Week 1 win against the New England Patriots feels nice, the team still isn’t respected by many in the national media.
A win in primetime against a playoff team from last season would certainly help the Raiders earn that respect. Though Monday Night Football isn’t as big a deal as it was in the past, Carroll still gets excited about the chance to play in those games.
“Monday Night Football has been something big to all of us for all the time we’ve been around, and we talked to the team about that today,” Carroll said Thursday. “Some of our guys, when they were little kids, were dreaming about playing on Monday night. So, it is a big deal. We have to handle it really well. If you’ve looked at our days in Seattle, we’ve done pretty well on Monday night. And you expect to continue to find that consistency that you need in that situation and not let everything get your head and take you out of your game.”