The Las Vegas Raiders have not had tight end Michael Mayer in the lineup for a few weeks now, as the former second-round pick has been out due to a personal matter.
While it wasn't clear exactly what kept Mayer out, we now have at least some details about what's behind his absence, and it has nothing to do with his role with the team, which some speculated might be the cause.
According to Your Boy Q on the Locked On Raiders Podcast (at the 25-minute mark of the linked episode), the Raiders didn't know what was going on with Mayer before his family reached out to the team, informing Las Vegas that the tight end is indeed dealing with a personal matter and "a situation that has occurred in his life before."
While Q didn't have specifics, he did say definitively that Mayer is not absent due to an issue with his playing time and targets, and he is not requesting a trade. The team is now working to help resolve whatever personal issue Mayer is dealing with to get him back with the team.
We don't want to draw any conclusions on what exactly Mayer is dealing with, seeing as how the details are very limited, but we obviously wish him the best and hope everything is ultimately OK.
A second-round pick of the Raiders in 2023, Mayer showed flashes of being an impact blocker and pass-catcher during his rookie campaign, which made the selection of Brock Bowers in the 2024 NFL Draft surprising at first.
But Bowers has quickly shown why general manager Tom Telesco couldn't pass up on him, as he's become one of the better tight ends in the NFL already. Meanwhile, Mayer has seen a drop in snaps from last season and hasn't been involved in the offense much.
Despite all that, the Notre Dame product has handled the situation with total class and has embraced the addition of Bowers.
