Raiders’ Brock Bowers Gets Strong Words Before Jaguars Game
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(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Las Vegas Raiders have only had a healthy Brock Bowers for one game, which was their Week 1 contest against the New England Patriots. Since then, he’s dealt with a knee injury.
Bowers did his best to play through the injury despite the injury as he wore a brace. However, eventually, the Raiders coaching staff shut him down for a couple of weeks to truly get healthy.
Now, coming off a bye week, all signs point to Bowers potentially playing against the Jacksonville Jaguars. With the Raiders having arguably their best offensive weapon out on the field in Week 9, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen spoke about facing the young tight end.
“I think you look at last year and early in the season,” Coen told reporters about preparing to potentially face Bowers. “The first play of the season against the Patriots, they got him the ball on the very first play. When he’s healthy and available, he’s someone they definitely want to get the ball in his hands.
“We’ve got to make sure we understand where he is because he’s in the hip at tight end, he’s in an inline stance, he’s in the slot, he’s out at one. They want to move him around as the weapon that he is. I think we don’t want to say overprepare, but definitely lean more toward expecting them to get him going.”
Raiders Will Have to Worry About Travis Hunter
Still, Coen isn’t the only coach gearing up to contain a rising young offensive threat. In their upcoming matchup with Jacksonville, the Raiders
“He’s not just a good fast kid that can play ball,”
“That’s the kind of guy who has the savvy and awareness that make him unique and special, and why they went so hard after getting him. He’s the centerpiece of their offense and, in particular, defense. Maybe they’re cutting back a little on that, but offensively, he did really well last week. He’s not just a catch guy; he’s a catch-and-run guy, and he blocks, too. He’s got a good mentality about him.”
Jaguars Will Need to Prepare for a New Raiders Player
The Jaguars will see a new face in a Raiders uniform when they take the field. On October 27, Las Vegas announced the signing of veteran wide receiver Tyler Lockett, reuniting him with Pete Carroll and quarterback Geno Smith.
Lockett began the 2025 NFL season with the Tennessee Titans but requested his release, which was granted on October 20. Before Lockett’s possible debut with the Raiders, Carroll spoke about reuniting with the former Seattle Seahawks standout.
“High hopes for him and high hopes for us that we can make a good connection here, “ Carroll said on the latest episode of “1 on 1.”
“He’s a marvelous football player and a tremendous person; he’s one of the real natural ball players—he’s got great sense and feel and has always demonstrated that. Geno knows him really well. They’ve played together for quite some time, and there’s a chemistry between them that
“We’ll see what happens and hold out good hopes for this to help us. I’m really excited for Tyler to be with us again, in a place where people love him, know who he is and what he’s all about, and hopefully our fans will be able to see that.”
Stephen Jones Sends Bold Message on Cowboys’ Trade Deadline Plans
The Dallas Cowboys are all in on the 2025 NFL season. But they’ll also consider moving players off their roster to address areas of need.
Stephen Jones, the Cowboys executive vice president and CEO, addressed why the Cowboys would be considered both buyers and sellers ahead of the NFL Trade Deadline on Tuesday.
The Cowboys (3-4-1) are in second place in the NFC East and sit 2.5 games behind the first-place Philadelphia Eagles. They’re just 1.5 games back of the San Francisco 49ers for the final NFC playoff spot.
Dallas will host the Arizona Cardinals (2-5) on Monday Night Football mere hours before the 4 p.m. ET deadline.
Stephen Jones: ‘Sometimes Player For Player [Trades] Can Be Very Interesting’
The Cowboys have one of the best offenses in the NFL. They rank first in the NFL in passing-yards per game (263.8), second in yards per game (384.1) and points per game (30.8).
Yet, Dallas is middling due to its woeful defense. The Cowboys are 31st in the NFL in yards-against per game (404.6) and points-against per game (31.3) and have allowed at least 30 points in five of their eight games this season.
So Jones knows the Cowboys can use their strength on offense to potentially acquire defensive reinforcements.
“I think there’s a lot of things that go into us improving as a defense,” Jones told KTFM on Thursday. “If you can find a player that upgrades you, as I’ve always said, we’re always looking for that every year. Whether it’s by trade or whether it’s a player acquisition, it comes by a lot of shapes, forms and fashions.”
Cowboys fans may be incensed at the team’s scuffling defense, since the blockbuster Micah Parsons trade sapped the team of one of its most talented players. Still, according to Jones, there are deals to be made to improve.
“We have areas where we have depth, and sometimes player-for-player [trades] can be very interesting to us,” Jones said. “We’re also in consideration for giving up a player for us getting a pick and vice versa. It goes all ways.”
The Dallas Cowboys’ Game Against Arizona Is ‘A Big, Big Game’
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has never lost at AT&T Stadium, and Arizona has won three straight against Dallas dating back to 2020.
“What an amazing high-school career he had,” Jones said of Murray, who won three straight state championships while playing at Allen High School and also having a standout baseball career as well. “He’s just a competitor and a winner, and that’s our goal, to put that streak to an end. But I’m sure he’s going to have his competitive juices flowing coming back home to where all he won all those championships.”
Yet, the Cardinals have been struggling with five straight losses despite their minus-1 point differential. If the Cowboys have any illusions of making the playoffs in the much-improved NFC, Jones knows they’ll need to win at home — where they are 2-0-1 despite averaging 33 points per game.
“It’d be huge for us to get a win,” Jones said. “It’s a big, big game. I know it’s a big game for the Cardinals, but it’s a huge game for us as well.”
