The Las Vegas Raiders got brutal news on Wednesday afternoon with star tight end Brock Bowers, as he will miss the first game or two with a knee injury. He underwent a meniscus trim on Tuesday to fix the injury.

Raiders All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers underwent a meniscus trim Tuesday in Dallas with Dr. Daniel Cooper and now is expected to miss “a game or two”, league sources told @rapsheet and me. Bowers got banged up “a little in camp” and the injury was diagnosed last week and surgery… pic.twitter.com/42ANGHbYSC

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 9, 2026

That means Bowers will miss Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins and possibly next week’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers. In his place will be Michael Mayer, who was a second-round pick of the Raiders in 2023.

Brock Bowers will miss a game or two with a knee injury

This is a tough one for the Raiders, who were hoping to take a step forward right away with new head coach Klint Kubiak. Even so, there are still weapons for quarterback Kirk Cousins to throw to, including new wide receiver Jalen Nailor, along with Jack Bech and Tre Tucker. Even with them, it will be a big loss for Bowers to miss any amount of time.

What’s really frustrating about this injury is less about Bowers missing time and more about how they handled the situation. Bowers getting a trim is good for the 2026 Raiders, as he will end up playing the majority of this season. That’s good for ticket sales, merchandise, and enjoyment of the game. It could be awful for his future.

When you get a meniscus injury, there are two ways to approach it: get a full repair that will take multiple months to heal, or getting a trim like Bowers did. When you get a trim, you can get back quicker, but it can have negative long-term impact on the knee. We won’t know the impact it will have on Bowers, but it could have a major negative impact down the line.

It’s good for this season, but it’s far from an ideal scenario.