Raiders report: No. 1 wide receiver misses 2nd straight practice

Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers did not practice for the Raiders for the second straight day Thursday.

Meyers is dealing with toe and knee injuries, putting his status for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs in question.

The 28-year-old sat out even though offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said Meyers “should go today” in his news conference before the Raiders’ walkthrough.

Meyers, however, was off to the side wearing shorts and a sweatshirt as his teammates began practice a little over an hour later.

Tight end Brock Bowers, who has missed two straight games with a knee injury he suffered in the Raiders’ season opener, also didn’t practice Thursday. It would be a surprise if Bowers played against Kansas City at this point. The 22-year-old has 19 catches for 225 yards this season.

Running back Dylan Laube, a key special teams player, returned to practice Thursday after missing Wednesday’s workout with a hamstring injury.

Wide receiver Alex Bachman (ankle) was limited Thursday, while wide receiver Justin Shorter (illness) didn’t practice.

Will Smith be aggressive?

Quarterback Geno Smith played an efficient, albeit quiet game in the Raiders’ win over the Titans last week.

He distributed the ball with accuracy, though he did throw his NFL-leading 10th interception.

Smith stuck with short and intermediate passes against Tennessee and rarely challenged the defense downfield. That may not be enough to beat a talented Chiefs defense that’s allowed the 11th-fewest points in the NFL.

But Smith also can’t be reckless with the ball, as he has been too often during the Raiders’ 2-4 start.

“Overall, you want to be efficient,” Smith said. “You also don’t want to just check it down all game. You want to take what they’re giving you and take your shots when you can.”

It’s a tough line for Smith to walk. But the Raiders need him to thread that needle if they want to pull off an upset Sunday.

“Every game is different, every situation is different,” Smith said. “I mean, there’s a lot to think about in each situation. So, I think overall, you want to have both. You want to be aggressive, you want to have explosive plays, but you also want to be very efficient.”

Getting Meyers going

The Raiders need to figure out how to get Meyers more involved if he does play Sunday.

He caught 17 passes for 228 yards in the team’s first three games. He has 12 catches for 101 yards in the Raiders’ last three games.

Some of that drop in production can be explained by Bowers’ injury. His absence has led opposing defenses to focus more on Meyers, who had a career-high 1,027 yards last year.

Kelly believes Meyers’ production will level out over the course of the season.

“I don’t look at it on a week-to-week basis. I look at it over the season,” Kelly said. “He’s obviously our (No. 1) wide receiver. And … I think everybody else in the league knows that, too.”

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