Brock Bowers Injured, Latest Updates on Raiders TE After Exiting Fernando Mendoza's 1st Start

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza lost one of his top targets during his first NFL start on Sunday.

Star tight end Brock Bowers went down with an ankle injury in the first half against the Seattle Seahawks and was officially ruled out early in the third quarter.

Bowers was able to walk off the field and into the medical tent under his own power after going down and was even seen running on the sideline, but he was ultimately not able to return.

Bowers had a pair of receptions for 18 yards before exiting.

Bowers came into Sunday's game with 48 receptions for 658 yards and six touchdowns in seven games, making him the Raiders' leading receiver so far this year. The former 13th overall pick missed the first two games of the season because of a knee injury but has been tremendous ever since.

He's coming off a game in which he recorded 111 yards and a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers.

Unfortunately for Bowers, he's dealt with various injuries to start his career. He played all 17 games as a rookie but missed five games last year because of a knee injury.

Having already missed two games this year, it appears Bowers could be on the way to missing more time, though the severity of his ankle injury has yet to be determined.

Mendoza, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft out of Indiana, started the season backing up veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, but the Raiders traded Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings earlier this week.

That meant Mendoza was thrust into the starting role a bit earlier than expected.

The former Heisman Trophy winner will look to finish the season strong, but being without Bowers would make things much more difficult.