Without TEs Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, where does that leave the Las Vegas Raiders? A pair of key injuries could hold QB Geno Smith back even further, something the team never thought was possible.
His horrendous start could only continue to decline if he has neither a target to throw to in Week 6, as the 1-4 Raiders host the 1-4 Tennessee Titans.
The State of the Las Vegas Raiders TE Room Without Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer
Bowers, who is ruled as “week to week“, is competing with Mayer, who’s still battling a concussion, to see who can get on the field first. Neither was present in the team’s Week 5 loss, an ugly one at that. Raiders fans had no choice but to look away as Smith’s interception total now sits at nine.
So far this season, Smith has thrown a pass to 13 different players. In total, all four of the team’s tight ends are on that list. Other than Bowers and Mayer, Albert Okwuegbunam Jr. is listed as TE3 with Ian Thomas sitting at TE4. Neither has made a significant contribution, but they’ve at least been out on the field, and the Raiders aren’t left with players who have no experience.
In Week 5, both Okwuegbunam and Thomas had multiple receptions. Okwuegbunam was tied for the most receptions (five) and was third on the team with 36 receiving yards. A few players below him were Thomas, who left Indianapolis with his first three receptions of the season. He ended with 20 yards, 10 of those coming on one catch.
In total, Thomas caught all three of his targets while Okwuegbunam was targeted six times.
If there was ever a time for Bowers and Mayer to miss action, it’s against the Titans. Had a few crazy plays not gone their way in Arizona, Tennessee would’ve extended the NFL’s longest active losing streak to 11.
Instead, HC Brian Callahan may have saved his job as luck was certainly on their side. The Titans have a solid defense, but it’s one that RB Ashton Jeanty should be able to run all over.
Smith is a bottom-ranked QB this season after seemingly saving his career last year in Seattle. Now, he’s ranked No. 25 in PFSN’s QB Impact Metric. His C- grade comes at the expense of all the mistakes he’s made this year, but HC Pete Carroll doesn’t have any better options.
At this point, Kenny Pickett remains QB2 as Smith will likely have to throw to Okuegbunam and Thomas again in Week 6.
