Michael Mayer’s absence, explained: Everything we know about it!

The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to have tight end Michael Mayer back on the field for their Week 11 matchup against the Miami Dolphins after a significant absence. Mayer, a former second-round pick, played in the first three games of the 2024 season but left the team in Week 4 due to personal reasons. He hasn’t played since then, but he returned to the team during the bye week and has fully participated in practice all week.

Although Mayer was listed as questionable for the game, he was activated off the non-football illness (NFI) list on Saturday, and it’s expected that he’ll suit up. Here’s what we know about Mayer’s time away from the team and his return to the field.

Why Michael Mayer was away

There was some speculation that Mayer might have been unhappy with his role on the team, especially after the Raiders brought in tight end Brock Bowers, but that wasn’t the case. According to Your Boy Q on the Locked On Raiders Podcast, Mayer’s family reached out to the team and explained that his absence was due to a personal situation he had experienced before. Mayer briefly touched on the matter, but didn’t go into details, sharing that football wasn’t the most important thing at the time.

“I just needed to figure some things out,” Mayer said, per Levi Edwards of Raiders.com. “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 that I need to be doing to set myself up for success and help the team. Whatever they ask me to do these next eight, nine, 10, 11 weeks – I’ll do it for ‘em.”

Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce also mentioned Mayer’s return positively, saying, “It was good to see big Mike back… he looked good, had a little tan, so I don’t know where he was at, but he was hanging out somewhere good.”

Is Michael Mayer playing this week?

Despite his extended absence, it looks like Mayer will be ready to play in Week 11. Coach Pierce hinted that the bye week gave Mayer the necessary time to get back into shape and get ready for his return to the field. “Good thing we had a bye week,” Pierce added. “That’s a good ramp-up period for Mayer.”

The final step for Mayer was being activated off the NFI list, which happened on Saturday, clearing the way for his return. However, since he’s still listed as questionable on the injury report, it’s not 100% guaranteed that he’ll play, but his chances are high. We’ll know for sure when the inactives list is released before kickoff.