With the news that Brock Bowers has undergone a procedure to trim his meniscus in his left knee, many fantasy owners are rightfully scrambling to the waiver wire to scoop up Michael Mayer. He is a solid fantasy option with Bowers sidelined for at least some time and possibly beyond his two-game timeline, but we also don’t want you to get too far ahead of yourself.
#Raiders TE Brock Bowers will miss Week 1 vs. the Miami Dolphins after undergoing meniscus trim surgery, per @AdamSchefter.
A meniscus trim is generally a 4–6 week recovery for most players, but the team is optimistic Bowers can beat that timeline. A meniscus repair would’ve… pic.twitter.com/Qh9VJu8jCO
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 9, 2026
Far too often, news breaks and the hype gets way too big, way too fast. We are going to take a look at the realistic expectations for Mayer while Bowers is sidelined.
Fantasy Outlook
TE Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders
Last season, Mayer played four games with Bowers sidelined; let’s take a look at how he performed:
vs Tennessee Titans:5 receptions, 7 targets, 50 yards, 1 TD
@ Kansas City Chiefs: 1 reception, 2 targets, 10 yards
vs New York Giants: 9 receptions, 10 targets, 89 yards
vs Kansas City Chiefs: 3 receptions, 5 targets, 47 yards
Total: 4 games, 18 receptions, 24 targets, 196 yards, 1 TD
Average: 4.5 receptions, 6 targets, 49 yards, .25 TDs
17-Game Projection: 76.5 receptions, 102 targets, 833 yards, 4.25 TDs
He shows an impressive weekly outlook, but also hasn’t shown a ton of weekly upside. Many in the fantasy community are locking him in as a TE1 this week with upside; however, we view him more as a TE2 with potential TE1 upside.
While he is a talented player, at the end of the day, he is still in the Raiders’ offense with Kirk Cousins throwing him the ball. With that said, that wasn’t an issue for Kyle Pitts last season, and he has a shot to lead the team in targets.
They do have some more weapons than they did last season, and an improved offensive line could allow them to run a lot more, which would be the ideal situation for the team as long as Ashton Jeanty is healthy. We strongly advocated for picking up Mayer; just don’t get crazy.
You shouldn’t be benching better tight ends like Isaiah Likely or Dallas Goedert to force him into your lineup. He is a great emergency replacement for Bowers and should give you solid production. Just don’t overreact to him being cast into a starting role and either be disappointed or bench a better option just to get him in your lineup. This is still a backup who has never caught double-digit passes in a game, never reached 90 yards, and has just three career touchdown receptions.
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