‘He looks great’: Raiders hope to welcome star back to lineup after bye

Brock Bowers tried to be politically correct when describing the past seven weeks.

The Raiders’ star tight end suffered a left knee injury in the team’s season opener that rendered him a shade of himself for the next three games. Bowers then sat out three straight games to heal.

The more the 2024 first-round pick thought about it, the angrier he got.

“It sucked, to be honest,” Bowers said.

Thankfully for Bowers, the injury appears to be behind him. The former Georgia standout practiced on a limited basis two days before the Raiders’ loss to the Chiefs on Oct. 19, then let loose during the team’s workouts during its bye week. In typical Bowers fashion, he was a dominant force.

“He kind of stole the show a little bit,” coach Pete Carroll said.

Quarterback Geno Smith agreed.

“Just going out there and repping it, he looked fine to me,” Smith said. “So really happy to have him back.”

Bowers, 22, was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice when the Raiders returned from their break. That puts him on track to return in Sunday’s game against the Jaguars at Allegiant Stadium.

“He looks great. He really does,” Carroll said. “He looks like he’s full speed and he’s back.”

Irreplaceable talent

Bowers, who has 19 catches for 225 yards, did not speculate on how close to 100 percent his knee is. He was feeling good enough to say he was “ready to roll, hopefully.”

That caused smiles around the Raiders building. Bowers is indispensable as a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. The attention he draws also makes life easier for the Raiders’ other receivers.

It’s no coincidence that wide receiver Jakobi Meyers posted the first 1,000-yard season of his career after Bowers showed up. Bowers immediately became a threat, setting rookie records for receptions (112) and receiving yards by a tight end (1,194) last year. Meyers, with someone to help take the load off, set career highs in catches (87) and receiving yards (1,027).

The Raiders’ best game on offense this year came when Bowers was healthy.

The team set season highs in total yards (389) and passing yards (333) in its Week 1 win over the Patriots. Bowers played a huge role in those numbers with five catches for 103 yards.

The Raiders haven’t had 300 passing yards in a game since. They averaged just 139.3 yards through the air in the three games Bowers missed.

“He is a big part of our offense, and we missed him out there for sure,” Smith said.

Smith and Bowers developed quick chemistry this offseason. Neither believes it will take long for them to pick things back up.

“We had two practices during the bye week and I was feeling pretty good running around,” Bowers said. “I have a lot of banked reps, and we’ll have this week, too.”

More than anything, Bowers is just happy to feel like himself again.

“Man, it feels super good to be back out there, running around and just playing ball,” he said.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.