The Las Vegas Raiders didn't have tight end Brock Bowers in Week 5 against the Indianapolis Colts, as the 2024 draft pick was sidelined due to a knee injury.
Bowers first suffered the PCL injury and bone bruise in Week 1, but after playing with those issues for three games, the Raiders decided to sit their star offensive playmaker on Sunday in the hopes he can get to 100% at some point.
When asked about Bowers' status last week, head coach Pete Carroll characterized the young tight end as "week-to-week."
However, on Wednesday, Carroll gave an improved outlook for Bowers.
Brock Bowers injury update
According to Jesse Merrick of the Silver & Black Sports Network, Carroll said that Bowers is now "day-to-day" with his knee injury, which gives a shred of hope that he'll make his return to the field this week.
The Raiders will drop their first injury report of the week later on Wednesday, so we'll know if he made any progress from last week in terms of practice participation.
Bowers was limited last Wednesday before sitting out the final two days of the week, so a limited session would be a step in the right direction.
"It's painful, sore, just annoying [and] frustrating because I want to be back to full strength and going full speed, being able to separate from guys," Bowers said of injuring his knee in Week 1 against the New England Patriots.
"I feel like I can't really do that to the best of my abilities right now," he added.
It has been pretty clear that Bowers isn't at 100%. He saw a big drop in his numbers after a monster Week 1 showing and just didn't look right overall.
Truth be told, it wouldn't be surprising at all if Bowers sits out again this week, as the Raiders are going to be very cautious with someone who is crucial to the offense and team's future.
It's something the Raiders should've done from the jump, but better late than never.
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