Raiders tight end Brock Bowers made five catches for 103 yards in Week 1 of last season, but he injured his knee. He played through it the following three games, making only 14 catches for 122 yards before the Raiders shut him down until Week 9.
Bowers made 64 receptions for 680 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games in 2025, well short of his rookie season.
He is again full speed, while practicing with the team in organized team activities.
“I feel great,” Bowers said Thursday. “I mean, it feels good to be back out there, practicing at full speed. Getting back into football with all the guys again. I had a good offseason working out, staying healthy and trying to get back to 100 percent.”
That is great news for Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza, as the Raiders have their top weapon back in his 2024 form when he earned first-team All-Pro honors.
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Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick of this year’s draft, has been making a positive impression on his new offensive coordinator.
While Klint Kubiak is set to call Las Vegas’ offensive plays, first-year OC Andrew Janocko will also be one of the architects of Mendoza’s development.
Janocko said on Thursday that Mendoza’s approach to learning the pro game has been a positive for the club so far.
“I think he’s a guy that wants to come in and grind every day, work,” Janocko said in his press conference. “All three of those guys [Mendoza, Kirk Cousins, Aidan O’Connell] come in every single day and they want to work, they want to learn, they want to be the best in the world. He’s got two guys in the room with him that just set an unbelievable example with the way they work, the way they prepare. So he’s able to see that and grow within himself.”
Though Mendoza will take over as Las Vegas’ QB1 sooner than later, right now the Raiders like that the young QB is interested in going beyond the surface level as he learns the offense.
“I think that’s something we ask from all quarterbacks — is just to know the whys behind every play,” Janocko said. “Know the what, know the whys, and be ready to go above and beyond the Xs and Os at times to make things right. And to know where guys are at and where they’re supposed to be at, so that you can help guys, knowing not [just] your job, but the other 10 jobs as well.”
To that end, Cousins and O’Connell have been a benefit to Mendoza. But the club also has players at different positions to help with that process.
“[G]uys like [center] Tyler Linderbaum [can say] if a young quarterback’s cadence is just a little bit off, that’s great insight for him,” Janocko said.
There’s a lot of time between now and Week 1, let alone the rest of the season. But Mendoza Mendoza appears to have brought plenty to the table since the Raiders made his selection official just over a month ago.
Packers running back Josh Jacobs faces five criminal charges arising from a domestic disturbance over the weekend. Jacobs, through his lawyers, has denied the charges.
“Josh vehemently denies the allegations, and this matter is in the early stages of investigation with important evidence that has not yet been made public,” Jacobs’s Las Vegas-based attorneys said in a statement issued to NFL Media. “We ask for fairness and restraint while the judicial process takes its course.”
The charges are serious: battery/domestic abuse, criminal damage to property/domestic abuse, disorderly conduct/domestic abuse, strangulation and suffocation, and intimidation of a victim.
Jacobs, 28, was a first-round pick of the Raiders in 2019. He signed a four-year, $48 million contract as a free agent with the Packers in 2024.
He led the NFL in rushing in 2022, with 1,653 yards. In 2025, Jacobs gained 929 rushing yards and scored 14 total touchdowns in 15 regular-season games.
Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza skipped Indiana’s visit to the White House so that he could focus on his current job. He didn’t skip last weekend’s NFLPA Rookie Premiere.
It sounds like he wanted to.
“I’m going to be completely honest with you,” Mendoza told Gilbert Manzano of SI.com (via Chris Franklin of NJ.com). “I’d rather be practicing right now and I was really upset about actually having to miss practice for this. Although it’s great. . . . It’s still been a great moment to where it was mandatory I be here. I’m not going to feel sorry for myself and feel wishy-washy.”
And so Mendoza did what he always seems to do — he fully embraced the situation he was in.
“I’m going to have a smile on my face and make the most of that present moment,” Mendoza said. “Live and learn all the [NFLPA] benefits, make all the connections with different mentors here, let me make sure I can maximize my time to be able to create a positive impact and learn about my situation and surroundings. So those are all things that I really benefited from being here.”
Mendoza apparently didn’t miss any of the team’s formal OTA sessions for the NFLPA event, which ran from Friday, May 14, through Sunday, May 17. The first OTA happened on Monday, May 18.
The NFLPA Rookie Premiere isn’t technically mandatory for the players. But the teams are required under the CBA to allow them to attend. Per Article 21, Section 7: “Invited Rookies will be permitted by their respective Clubs to attend the NFL Players Rookie Premiere provided that: (i) such event is scheduled during the month of May; (ii) such event encompasses a maximum of four consecutive days, including both a Saturday and a Sunday; and (iii) the NFLPA provides the NFL with the dates for the next Rookie Premiere not later than February 1 of each year.”
Raiders fans should be happy that Mendoza is all in. Although there’s no guarantee that he’ll become the team’s much-needed, year-to-year franchise quarterback, he’s committed to doing everything in his power to get there.
As his 13th NFL season approaches, receiver Davante Adams has a chance to make a big move on the list of all-time receptions.
His 60 catches in 2025, Adams’s first year with the Rams, put him at No. 16 on the career catch list with 1,017.
As noted by Evan Craig of SB Nation, Adams needs only seven catches to match Rams legend and Hall of Famer Isaac Bruce at No. 15. Beyond that, Adams needs seven more to catch Steve Smith Sr. at No. 14.
Another 60-catch season would put Adams in the top 10, one reception ahead of Anquan Boldin and one behind Terrell Owens. (Free-agent Keenan Allen, currently at 1,055 catches, may have something to say about whether Adams finishes 2026 at No. 10 or No. 11.)
It’s unclear how much longer the 33-year-old Adams will play. But he’s in position to eventually pass Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison Sr., who’s currently fifth with 1,102 receptions. Entering 2026, Adams is only 86 catches away from doing that.
Adams is already seventh in career touchdown receptions, with 117. He has led the league three times — and he’s the only player to do that with three different teams (Packers, Raiders, Rams).
Last year, he had 14 in only 14 games. With another 14 touchdown catches this year, Adams will occupy the No. 4 spot on the all-time list at 131, behind only Jerry Rice (197), Randy Moss (156), and Terrell Owens (153).
Already, Adams has put together a borderline Hall of Fame resume. By the time he’s done, it could be a no-brainer.
Raiders coach Klint Kubiak thinks running back Ashton Jeanty can do more in his second year in the league.
Jeanty got a big workload as a rookie last year, carrying 266 times for 975 yards and adding 55 catches for 346 yards. But Kubiak, the Raiders’ first-year coach, wants to give the ball to Jeanty more.
“We want to put a lot of pressure on Ashton,” Kubiak said. “The next guy that steps up, whoever that may be, that’s going to be seen here in practice, OTAs and training camp, but we think we should continue to challenge Ashton and get more out of him. It’s important to have a quality second back, but the best player has got to play, and we’ve got to get them on the field as much as we can. I don’t know the play-snap percentage, but you look at [49ers running back] Christian McCaffrey, his play-snap percentage is high. So, those great backs, they don’t want to come off the field.”
McCaffrey played 83 percent of the 49ers’ offensive snaps last season. Jeanty played 78 percent of the Raiders’ offensive snaps last season. If things go according to Kubiak’s plan, Jeanty will play even more than he did as a rookie, get the ball even more than he did as a rookie, and produce even more than he did as a rookie.
Former Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs III, the first receiver taken in the 2021 draft, is serving a sentence of three to 10 years after pleading guilty to DUI resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. He’ll soon be eligible for parole.
Via Mark Inabinett of AL.com, Ruggs has initiated the process of seeking his release. He recently appeared before the Nevada Board of Parole on Monday to make his case for early release.
In November 2021, Ruggs collided with a car driven by 23-year-old Tina Tintor. At the time of impact, Ruggs’s Corvette was traveling 127 miles per hour. His blood-alcohol concentration was measured to be 0.161 percent.
“Not a minute goes by where I don’t think of the pain I caused her family, her friends and the Las Vegas community,” Ruggs told the parole board. “I’m a religious person and pray for her family daily.”
Ruggs’s earliest possible parole date is August 5, 2026.
Last year, Ruggs was moved from a minimum-security transitional housing facility to a medium-security prison, due to unspecified rules violations. It’s unknown whether and to what extent those violations will impact his opportunity to receive parole. As of June 2024, Ruggs was working outside the facility, at the Nevada governor’s mansion.
In June 2025, Ruggs made it clear that he would love to return to football. If/when he receives parole, the NFL will have to decide whether he’ll be cleared to sign with a team. If/when he is, a team will have to decide whether to sign him.
In 20 career games, with 19 starts, Ruggs caught 50 passes for 921 yards and four touchdowns. The Raiders released Ruggs on the same day the crash occurred.
USA Football soon will step into the spotlight, when it comes to figuring out the members of the 2028 Olympics flag football team. To assist that process, USA Football has made a key hire.
The sport’s national governing body announced on Thursday that former NFL fullback Marcel Reece has become the group’s Senior Vice President of Football Strategy & Operations.
Per the press release, USA Football explains that Reece now oversees the “football operation, driving the strategy, vision and success of the organization’s national team programs, Olympic and high-performance pathways, scouting and talent identification, athlete development and grassroots growth, as well as USA Football’s events portfolio.”
“In a short time with USA Football, Marcel has already made meaningful contributions to our organization,” USA Football CEO Scott Hallenbeck said. “With the Olympics on the horizon and the game growing at every level, this is exactly the right time to bring him on board full-time. His background as both a player and an executive brings a perspective that is truly unique and will strengthen everything our team has built, positioning us well for 2028 and beyond.”
A three-time Pro Bowler, the 40-year-old Reece primarily played for the Raiders. He spent three years working in the Raiders’ front office.
“Flag football’s Olympic debut in Los Angeles is a historic moment for the sport, and I’m proud to be part of this organization as we prepare for it,” Reece said.
USA Football plans to announce its selection process for the men’s national team for the 2028 Olympics later this year. Reece will now be heavily involved in that process.
The Raiders selected quarterback Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall last month.
But Las Vegas also has Kirk Cousins, who is — at this point — expected to begin the season as the club’s QB1.
As a veteran quarterback who’s familiar with the offensive system, Cousins is showing command at the position, with the Raiders getting their OTAs started this week.
“Yeah, he’s a professional. He’s played a lot of football. He’s a leader that we’re counting on right now,” Kubiak told reporters on Wednesday. “You see that side of him when it gets competitive, that was fun to get that move the ball period and get guys off of scripts and see how they respond, and you see the fire come out, and that’s what I want from our guys.”
Given that it’s still May, Kubiak has not yet officially named a starting quarterback. But he noted that the players will be the ones to really make that decision.
“It’s going to reveal itself, especially in training camp,” Kubiak said. “But it’s going to reveal itself here in these next how many do we have? Eight OTAs, these minicamp practices. But yeah, we definitely would [like to name a QB], but [we’ll] let the players figure that out for us with their tape.”
With Atlanta last season, Cousins completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,721 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty came into the league with high expectations last season, but he didn’t quite reach them during a dismal year in Las Vegas.
Jeanty averaged 3.7 yards per carry and only had four games when he picked up more than 100 yards from scrimmage. Some of the blame for his struggles could be attributed to an offensive line that didn’t offer many holes and poor quarterback play that did little to open up the field, but there’s not much to do to dress up what was a disappointing rookie campaign.
On Wednesday, Jeanty discussed his hope for better results in Year 2 and said that drilling down on what he’s seeing on the field has helped him feel more prepared for what’s coming his way in Year 2.
“Just focusing in more on the details, what the defense is doing, how we’re blocking things, coverage, all that type of stuff,” Jeanty said, via the team’s website. “So, it’s definitely slowing down, and I think it’s also just repetition as well. The more you rep it, the more the game slows down.”
The Raiders hope that they’ve solved some of the other issues that made them the lowest-scoring team in the league last year and a jump forward for Jeanty would be a welcome jolt as well.
