Raiders tight end Michael Mayer was away from the team for seven weeks while tending to a personal matter. But now he’s back with the club and practicing this week as Las Vegas prepares to play Miami.
A second-round pick in the 2023 draft, Mayer did not go into detail about the nature of his absence when speaking to reporters on Wednesday. But he did express his gratitude to the Raiders organization, the NFL, and the NFLPA for their support.
“They’ve been with me through the whole thing,” Mayer said, via Tashan Reed of TheAthletic.com. “I really appreciate that. I couldn’t ask for a better organization and a better support system. … It was a personal matter. Me and my family handled it behind closed doors, but I’m so thankful for this organization and I’m so thankful for the support they’ve shown me. I felt really happy and good out there today.
“The No. 1 important rule is that football’s not bigger than life. It isn’t, and it never has been,” Mayer added. “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 that I need to be doing to set myself up for success and help the team. Whatever they ask me to do … I’ma do it for ’em.”
A second-round pick in the 2023 draft, Mayer caught 27 passes for 304 yards with two touchdowns as a rookie. He had four catches for 21 yards in the first three games of this season.
Head coach Antonio Pierce said he was excited to see Mayer and that the tight end used the bye week as a ramp-up period — indicating that the tight end could be active this weekend when Las Vegas plays Miami.
While Mayer has returned to practice, he will need to be activated off the non-football injury list to play on Sunday.
