The Raiders are set to have tight end Michael Mayer back in the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins.
Mayer was activated from the non-football illness list on Saturday. Mayer has been out since Week Three for personal reasons and he was a full participant in practice all this week.
Mayer had four catches for 21 yards in the first three weeks of the season.
The Raiders also announced that they have waived wide receiver Alex Bachman. He had three catches for 31 yards in six games with the team.
Wide receiver Terrace Marshall and center Will Putnam were elevated from the practice squad to round out the day’s moves.
As mentioned in the item about the potential looming Netflix Christmas NFL fiasco, pro football benefits from an endless supply of bright, shiny objects to distract the media and fans from any and all in-season controversies.
If, for example, Chiefs-Steelers and/or Ravens-Texans become a debacle on Christmas Day for the NFL, there’s another game the next day, on Amazon Prime.
But there’s a problem. As scheduled, it’s Seahawks at Bears. While both are still alive at 4-5, both are trending downward. Seattle has lost five of six, and Chicago has lost three in a row and hasn’t scored a touchdown for 25 straight drives.
Amazon undoubtedly will want to flex out of that game. For the NFL, having a big game the day after the Christmas Day doubleheader could provide a useful diversion to potential Boxing Day criticism that Netflix failed to fix its boxing night flaws.
Here’s the problem. There aren’t many games that stand out in Week 17, especially with two of the best games (Chiefs-Steelers, Ravens-Texans) earmarked for Christmas.
Already, the NFL might need to move a 1:00 p.m. ET Sunday game to the 4:25 p.m. ET slot, since it’s currently occupied by Cowboys-Eagles. Meanwhile, the Sunday night game for that week — Dolphins-Browns — looks to be a potential stinker.
The options for Thursday night (or 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday or Sunday night) are Broncos-Bengals, Cardinals-Rams, Chargers-Patriots, Colts-Giants, Falcons-Commanders, Jets-Bills, Titans-Jaguars, Packers-Vikings, Raiders-Saints, and Panthers-Bucs.
Then there’s the fact that five games have been flagged for inclusion in a Saturday tripleheader: Broncos-Bengals, Cardinals-Rams, Falcons-Commanders, Chargers-Patriots, and Colts-Giants. (Current guess: the first three make it.)
The best news for Week 17 (beyond the Christmas games, if they work) is that the weekend concludes with Lions-49ers on Monday night.
By rule, a Thursday night flex must happen at least 28 days in advance. Which makes Thanksgiving Day the deadline for replacing Seahawks-Bears with something else. (Sunday reshuffling must happen only 12 days before the day of the games.)
It’s no surprise that Week 17 has so many games that don’t currently ooze drama and intrigue and significance. Eleven teams have three or fewer wins through 10 weeks. Unless some of the have-nots find the gas pedal soon, many of the packages the NFL distributes during Christmas season will contain socks, galoshes, and/or donations in our name to the Human Fund.
Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill may need wrist surgery after the season, but he’s set to play this weekend.
Hill was a full participant in practice on Friday and has no injury designation for Sunday’s game against the Raiders. Hill said last week that he hurt his wrist during the summer, but he has only been on the injury report for the last two weeks.
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey also has no injury designation. Ramsey hurt his knee in Thursday’s practice, but worked on a limited basis Friday and is set to play against Las Vegas.
Cornerback Kendall Fuller (concussion) is the only Dolphins player who has been ruled out. Left tackle Terron Armstead (rest, knee), left guard Robert Jones (knee), offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn (quad, knee), and safety Patrick McMorris (calf) are listed as questionable.
Seahawks center Connor Williams missed practice this week for a personal matter. He has retired from the NFL, coach Mike Macdonald announced Friday.
“So Connor early this week decided to retire. Personal reasons, and we respect that,” Macdonald said, via video from Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “Wish him the best, and we’ve got to move forward.”
Macdonald said he does not expect Williams to change his mind.
“I don’t believe so. We will honor his wishes and keep all those reasons and conversations private for obvious reasons,” Macdonald said.
Second-year player Olu Oluwatimi will take over as the starting center for the Seahawks.
Williams, 27, signed with the Seahawks on Aug. 6.
He had a “significant” knee injury that included a torn ACL during a Dec. 11 game when he played for the Dolphins against the Titans. It appeared this offseason that Williams might retire during the offseason but decided to return after working his way back.
Williams moved from guard to center after signing a two-year deal with the Dolphins in 2022 and became a solid starting center.
The Cowboys made Williams a second-round pick in 2018, and he played 92 career games, with 86 starts.
The Raiders may well have tight end Michael Mayer on the field when they play the Dolphins on Sunday.
Las Vegas has listed Mayer as questionable as he returns from the non-football illness list. Mayer was a full participant in practice all week, but still must be activated to the 53-man roster.
Head coach Antonio Pierce said in his Friday press conference that things were “trending up” for Mayer to play.
In three games this year, Mayer has four catches for 21 yards. But now that Davante Adams has been traded, Mayer’s role in the offense could expand — even with Brock Bowers being Las Vegas’ primary receiving option.
“Yeah obviously, he’s always been a part of the plan first and foremost,” Pierce said. “But obviously with losing people through injuries or trades, I think there’s obviously an opportunity there for him. But really, I think just getting him back to par with our team, obviously new offensive coordinator there with Scott Turner and just getting back in the fold, you want to be smart with it. You want to be smart.
“But obviously, Mike is a big part of our plans this year, this week and the future. So, the more we can get him involved, the better.”
The Raiders have ruled out cornerback Nate Hobbs (ankle), tight end Harrison Bryant (ankle), center Andre James (ankle), and guard Cody Whitehair (ankle).
Defensive end Maxx Crosby (ankle), cornerback Jakorian Bennett (hip), receive Jakobi Meyers (hamstring), offensive tackle Kolton Miller (ankle), guard Dylan Parham (foot), offensive lineman Andrus Peat (ankle), and linebacker Robert Spillane (knee) are all off the injury report and are set to play.
