What Brock Bowers' Injury Means for the Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders have what could turn out to be one of the greatest tight ends in National Football League history. It is not hyperbole to say that Brock Bowers has the potential to be the greatest tight end in history, if healthy and in a quality situation.

However, Bowers has not been healthy since sustaining a knee injury in Week 1.

Bowers Remains Out

The Raiders have once again been short on luck, as the injury bug has already already gotten the Raiders. On Friday, Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll noted that Bowers will miss his second consecutive game, as the Raiders will sit Bowers against the Tennessee Titans.

“Brock [Bowers], we continue to hold him out. We're not quite there yet, and we got to make sure we're taking care of him and all that. And so, we're working hard to do that, and that's what we're trying to ensure that once he's back, he stays back, and he's good and there's no setbacks," Carroll said.

"Yeah, I think it changes everybody's job. I mean, you lose the premier tight end in the NFL, and play calling is different. Some of the things that were tight end-centric just because of where Brock was, and then Brock's [Bowers] versatility, your ability to move him around and play him at split end, play him at flanker, play him in the slot, play him at tight end. You can really do some different things with him, you just lose that aspect. But that's the NFL,” Kelly said.

Bowers' loss negatively impacts the Raiders' chances of winning, as they are a vastly different offense without him healthy. Las Vegas built their offense around Bowers, only to essentially lose him in Week 1. Still, Kelly knows the Raiders will get no sympathy for their misfortune.

“There's not any team right now that is got the same people that they started, the 22 they started with that they're playing with into Week 5. And that's what this league is all about. You have to be able to make adjustments when you lose players like that, and you've got to move on," Kelly said.

"No one's feeling sorry for you when you have a guy down, because everybody has people down. So, that's just the nature of the game, and we're hopeful we'll get Brock back soon here. He's working his tail off to get back in the rehab process, so we'll see how that goes."

Kelly is right, injuries are no excuse in the league. However, the Raiders are trying to replace one of the best tight ends and one of the best offensive tackles in the league. That would impact any team's offense.