The Las Vegas Raiders will be getting one of their top players back.
On Saturday, the team announced that they have activated tight end Michael Mayer from the Non-Football Injury list. His status for the Raiders’ Week 11 matchup against the Miami Dolphins is still unclear, but Mayer’s activation is a positive sign that he is approaching a return to the field.
It is the most impactful of a series of roster moves for the Raiders, who also announced that they have waived wide receiver Alex Bachman and promoted wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. and center Will Putnam from the practice squad.
“Mike is a big part of our plans this year, this week and the future,” Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce said. “So, the more we can get him involved, the better.”
Mayer has not been active since Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers due to undisclosed personal reasons. However, according to Pierce, he returned to Las Vegas during the Raiders’ bye week in order to get back into playing shape.
While the reasons behind Mayer’s absence still remain a mystery, he did pass along a powerful statement to the media to shed some light on his thought process.
“The No. 1 important rule is that football’s not bigger than life. It isn’t, and it never has been,” Mayer said, per Tashan Reed of The Athletic. “I just needed to figure some things out. That’s what I did, and I’m on my feet again. I feel great. I’m sleeping well. I’m doing all the things I need to be doing.”
While Mayer could possibly play against the Dolphins this week, it is important to acknowledge that he is also learning a new offense under interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner. As such, it is unclear what Mayer’s workload will be, assuming he is activated for the game.
That said, it is still great news to here that Mayer is back and in good spirits.
