Bowers Limited, Thornton Returns: Raiders Get Mixed Injury News Ahead of Patriots Trip

HENDERSON, Nev. — Wednesday’s first practice of Week 5 gave the Las Vegas Raiders a little of everything: their most important offensive weapon working on the side, and a young wide receiver finally back in pads. Tight end Brock Bowers was limited with a knee injury, but second-year wideout Dont’e Thornton Jr. returned to practice as a full participant — opening his 21-day window to come off injured reserve and giving the 3-1 Raiders a potential reinforcement for Sunday’s trip to New England.

The report lands in the middle of what has quietly become one of the NFL’s best early-season stories. First-year head coach Klint Kubiak has the Raiders at 3-1 after Sunday’s 30-27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in a battle of unbeatens, with veteran Kirk Cousins at quarterback and an offense that has leaned heavily on its tight ends. Now the week of preparation for the Patriots begins with the two names that matter most moving in opposite directions on the injury report.

Bowers watchLimited again — but producing like a star

Bowers was limited in Wednesday’s practice, NBC Sports reported, continuing the managed-workload pattern the Raiders have followed since his return. The tight end had a knee procedure — a meniscus trim late in the offseason, per NBC Sports — that kept him out the first two weeks of the season, and the team has carefully rationed his practice reps ever since. Last week he logged two limited sessions before sitting out Friday’s practice entirely; this week starts the same way.

The production, though, has been anything but limited. Bowers has 16 catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns in two games since coming back, per NBC Sports — 25 targets in all, with a score in both contests, per USA Today. He was the best player on the field in stretches of Sunday’s 30-27 loss to the Chiefs, hauling in a 20-yard touchdown from Cousins with under two minutes left to cut Kansas City’s lead to 30-25 late in the fourth quarter.

The fantasy and reality verdicts agree: this is workload management, not a setback. “He is a TE1 no matter the opponent,” USA Today noted in its Wednesday player update, adding that the Raiders are likely just managing Bowers’ reps after he missed the start of the season. NBC Sports’ outlook was the same: barring setbacks, Bowers should be cleared off the injury report by Friday and will be a TE1 for Week 5 once again. For a Raiders offense built around Kubiak’s tight-end-heavy scheme, that is the only line on Wednesday’s report that truly matters.

Thornton’s return“Ready to play”

The genuinely good news: Dont’e Thornton Jr. is practicing again. The second-year receiver was a full participant in his first day back Wednesday after the Raiders opened his 21-day practice window, NBC Sports reported — meaning the team now has three weeks to activate him from injured reserve, and he could be available as soon as Sunday in Foxborough.

Thornton has been on injured reserve since Aug. 31 with a hamstring injury suffered during training camp, per Vols Wire. He told Raiders media Wednesday that he feels “ready to play” and is “overly confident” in the hamstring, via ESPN’s Ryan McFadden as reported by NBC Sports. And in his own words, the mindset is simple: “I just want to go out there, play football, have fun and help my team be the best they can be, so whatever that calls for from this team, that’s what I’m going to do,” Thornton Jr. said Wednesday, according to Vols Wire.

The pedigree is real, even if the résumé is short. Thornton was the Raiders’ fourth-round pick in 2025, No. 108 overall — a 6-foot-5, 205-pound deep threat who totaled 10 receptions for 135 yards as a rookie in 2025, per Vols Wire. He played at Tennessee from 2023-24 after transferring from Oregon, appearing in 22 games with seven starts and recording 39 receptions for 885 yards and seven touchdowns. The Raiders’ wide receiver room could use the help: Tre Tucker leads the team with 233 receiving yards, per Raiders Wire, with Cody White next at just 64 yards and offseason addition Jalen Nailor at five catches for 52 yards. With fellow 2025 draft pick Jack Bech on injured reserve with a forearm injury, there are targets available for a 23-year-old speedster who says he is ready.

The rest of the reportNailor sits, JPJ returns

Not practicing Wednesday was wide receiver Jalen Nailor, who suffered a concussion Sunday against the Chiefs, per NBC Sports. Starting the week in the concussion protocol puts him on the wrong side of questionable for Week 5 — which makes Thornton’s return timing even more convenient.

The limited list was long but mostly familiar: offensive guard Spencer Burford (knee), defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi (shoulder), wide receiver Cody White (ankle) and offensive guard Trey Zuhn (knee) joined Bowers as limited participants, per NBC Sports. The notable addition is Jackson Powers-Johnson, who returned to practice after missing last week’s Chiefs game with a groin injury; he was replaced in the starting lineup at right guard by Caleb Rogers, per Raiders Wire, and was limited Wednesday in his first session back.

New England’s side of the ledger has its own holes. The Patriots practiced without cornerback Carlton Davis (neck), cornerback Christian Gonzalez (shoulder), wide receiver Mack Hollins (calf) and cornerback Karon Prunty (hamstring), per Raiders Wire. A banged-up Patriots secondary is not the worst thing a Thornton-sized deep threat could walk into on Sunday.

On to FoxboroughRaiders at Patriots, Sunday

Las Vegas (3-1) visits New England (2-2) on Sunday, Oct. 11, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on CBS, per Vols Wire. Check the Week 5 opening odds for where the market has this one.

The shape of the week is set: Bowers managed but producing like the elite tight end he is, Thornton practicing in full and pushing for activation, and a Patriots secondary missing two starting-caliber corners. The Raiders’ only loss came against the Chiefs. Sunday is the first road test of whether this 3-1 start is the beginning of something — and Wednesday’s practice report suggests they may be getting healthier at exactly the right time.