Las Vegas Raiders star tight end Brock Bowers had a rookie year for the ages. In the 2024 season, he secured 1,194 yards, five touchdowns, and 112 receptions, which set the single-season record for most receptions by a rookie. Bowers was also named to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro in his first season.
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In 2025, Bowers suffered a knee injury that has kept him sidelined for Weeks 5 and 6. The star tight end sat down with Newsweek Sports to discuss his injury, his new partnership with USAA, and more.
Bowers partnered with USAA to promote safe driving with their “National Teen Driver Safety Week” campaign, which takes place between Oct. 19 – 25. The Raiders tight end gave a speech on safe driving, and tested USAA’s Auto Simulator
experience – a video game-like experience where the user will navigate a series of driving
distractions in an attempt to drive safely.
What can you tell me about your partnership with USAA?
“Yeah, I’m super thankful USA just, just huge safe driving campaign. And I feel like being here in the community in Las Vegas, just a big thing, you know, got to keep the road safe. And just huge thanks to, policemen, first responders, everyone like that out there, keeping everyone safe.”
The Raiders snapped their four-game losing streak. What was the feeling like in the locker room following the big win?
“Yeah, no, it was great. It was great to get back on winning. And, you know, a little bit of relief, you know, we lost four in a row, and it was a rough four weeks. So, you know, that little feeling of relief and enjoyment after the game was
really nice.”
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As stated, Bowers has been suffering from a knee injury that has plagued him for multiple weeks, and he is set to miss his third game in a row. The Raiders tight end talked about his recovery thus far.
How’s the knee feeling right now? Like, how close are you getting? How close are you to getting back on the field?
“Yeah, you know, it’s feeling better. It’s feeling better, man. We’ll see, though, you know, just trying to get better every single day, and it’s feeling a lot better. But we’ll see how it goes this week, and see how it feels during the bye week, and hopefully get back out there soon.”
What happened, and what exactly is the knee injury?
“Yeah, I’m not 100% sure if I’m supposed to or not. I gotta ask the trainers and stuff, but I’m not really sure.
Well, we’ll leave it at that.”
You had an incredible rookie season. Over 1,000 yards, receptions record, more. Was there pressure to come back and repeat that success, especially after the injury?
“Yeah, you know, there’s always some pressure. But, you know, I just try to focus on the day-to-day and focus on getting better every day through the off-season and during training camp. But you know, it’s, it’s frustrating not being able to be out there and perform my best, so trying to, there’s a lot, a lot of season left, so hopefully get back to close to 100% and be able to get out there and finish the year the way I want to, absolutely.”
The Raiders appear to have some growing pains. You got Pete Carroll, Chip Kelly, Geno Smith. Do you think the early-season struggles are due to the team not quite jelling together yet?
“It’s hard to say. I mean, Coach Carroll’s done a really good job at making us focus on, you know, doing things the right way throughout the week. And, I mean, it hasn’t paid off much on Sunday, but it’s coming, for sure. Everyone has a lot of faith in that. So I’m excited to see how the year finishes up, and hopefully, we finish strong.”
What is it going to take for the Raiders to bounce back and make the playoffs in 2025?
“Just focus on the day-to-day. Focus on getting better every single day and hoping it pays off on the weekends. I mean, just got to make plays on Sunday, too. You know. Just got to get it done.”
Pete Carroll is a legendary coach. Took a year off from being a head coach, and now he is leading the Raiders. What’s been the biggest difference, or what’s been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned from Pete Carroll thus far?
“Yeah, he just brings a ton of energy. Like, even being, being as old as he is, he’s out there running around at practice and, you know, messing with all the guys. So it’s been great seeing it’s been a huge it just brings a lot of optimism and and you know he just gets people going.”
The Raiders picked up Ashton Jeanty. He’s been the talk of the town. What’s it been like to kind of learn from him, and also teach him things that you’ve learned in your first year with the Raiders?
“Yeah, no, he’s, he’s been a baller, and he’s a great dude, so I’m really excited for him and seeing what he’s doing out there. I mean, it’s pretty cool to see the way he’s running over dudes, making people miss, and making plays. I mean, everyone kind of expected it, but, you know, there’s a lot of expectations coming in as a rookie, and you know, he has to do his thing. So he’s been doing it. He’s been doing it for sure, absolutely.”
How do you want to finish out 2025? Do you have any kind of, like, singular goals that you’re looking for, and maybe another Pro Bowl nod? Is there anything that you’re kind of chasing this year?
“I wouldn’t say ahase, and I just want to get out there, make some plays, have some fun, and win some football games.”
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