DALLAS — Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers underwent a meniscus trim in Dallas on Tuesday and is expected to miss “a game or two,” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network and Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Wednesday, citing league sources. Dr. Daniel Cooper, the head team physician for the Dallas Cowboys, performed the procedure.
Bowers got banged up “a little in camp,” per Rapoport, and the injury was diagnosed last week before surgery was scheduled.
A person with knowledge of the procedure told The Associated Press that Bowers is expected back in a week or two. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Raiders had not announced the injury.
Cooper has been the Cowboys’ head team physician since 1992 and practices at the Carrell Clinic in Dallas. He was the Dallas Stars team physician from 1993 to 2011. He is also under contract as the exclusive United States consultant to Real Madrid.
Bowers had been wearing a leg sleeve in recent practices, according to the AP. Raiders beat reporters noted his absence from Wednesday’s practice shortly before the report landed.
Klint Kubiak Said All Las Vegas Raiders Were Ready For Sunday
Raiders coach Klint Kubiak named Kirk Cousins his Week 1 starter over rookie Fernando Mendoza in the same Wednesday session, hours before the surgery was reported.
“We’re expecting to have all of our guys ready for Sunday,” Kubiak said.
Maxx Crosby was named alongside Bowers in the question put to Kubiak. Crosby had surgery on a torn meniscus in his left knee in January and did not play in a preseason game.
Las Vegas agreed on March 6 to send Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens for the No. 14 selection in 2026 and a 2027 first-round pick. Crosby completed his physical in Baltimore on March 10, and the Ravens withdrew that evening. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported the reason was medical. Dallas had its own offer in before Baltimore’s, with the 12th overall pick in 2026 and a 2027 second-round pick on the table, as Dallas Sports Journal reported.
Michael Mayer Takes Over For Brock Bowers Against The Miami Dolphins
Michael Mayer is next in line at tight end. Las Vegas took him 35th overall out of Notre Dame in 2023, and he has 83 receptions for 788 yards and 3 touchdowns in 38 career games. Last season he played 13 games and caught 35 passes for 328 yards and 1 touchdown.
Kubiak has run two-tight-end sets with Bowers and Mayer on the field together throughout camp.
The knee has been part of Bowers’ story for a year. He suffered a posterior cruciate ligament sprain and a bone bruise in his left knee in the Raiders’ season-opening win at New England on Sept. 7, 2025. He played 3 games with it, missed the next 3, and was placed on injured reserve for the final two weeks of the season.
Bowers finished 2025 with 64 receptions for 680 yards and 7 touchdowns in 12 games and 8 starts. He made his second straight Pro Bowl.
Las Vegas drafted Bowers 13th overall out of Georgia in 2024. He caught 112 passes for 1,194 yards and 5 touchdowns in 17 games as a rookie, set the NFL rookie record for receptions, and broke Mike Ditka‘s 1961 mark for receiving yards by a rookie tight end. He was a first-team All-Pro that year.
The Raiders host the Miami Dolphins at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX. Las Vegas plays at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 20 at 3:05 p.m. CT on CBS, then at the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 27 at 3:25 p.m. CT on CBS.
