By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
It was going to be homecoming weekend for Michael Mayer, the former Covington Catholic two-sport star athlete, Notre Dame record-breaking tight end and the 35th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Raiders with the Las Vegas team in town to play the Bengals Sunday.
But Michael, the Kentucky High School Gatorade Player of the Year after grabbing 49 catches for 970 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior who went on to an All-American career at Notre Dame where he set the school’s career record for receptions as a tight end, won’t be with the team this weekend.
And while the details of the 6-foot-4, 265-pound Mayer’s absence from the Raiders are unknown, the team’s media have reported that his family informed the Raiders that it’s “a personal issue” and “a situation that has occurred in his life before.”
Since Week 6 this season, second-year player Mayer has been on the NFL’s “non-football illness list” requiring him to miss a minimum of four games with a return no sooner than Week 11 after the team’s bye next week.
Michael actually went on the injury list in Week 4 after playing the first three games and has not returned in what team media have characterized as “one of the stranger things” to happen this Raiders’ season.
But on Wednesday, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce commented positively on the possibility of Mayer’s return. As reported by ESPN, Pierce said the Raiders see are Mayer’s getting back with the team as imminent.
“I think we’re getting close,” Pierce said. “I do think we’re getting close.”
“Mayer has missed the Raiders’ last three games for personal reasons,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore wrote. “The team believes things are pointed in the right direction for the 23-year-old and hope he will return at some point this year.”
After catching 27 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, Mayer’s progress was considered positive after his first season. However, a new general manager surprisingly drafted another tight end for this season – former Georgia phenom Brock Bowers, who has performed well and that has limited Mayer’s opportunities.
But all reports from Las Vegas say there is no connection between Michael’s absence and the arrival of Bowers. And that the Raiders are hopeful about his return for Week 11 against Miami Nov. 17.