The Las Vegas Raiders made headlines Wednesday morning with a pair of roster moves that raised more than a few eyebrows. With just two games left on the schedule-matchups against the New York Giants and the Kansas City Chiefs-the Raiders placed tight end Brock Bowers and safety Jeremy Chinn on injured reserve, officially ending their 2025 campaigns.
Now, on paper, the moves make some sense. Bowers has been dealing with a nagging knee issue all season, and Chinn’s been managing a back injury for the past few weeks.
But here’s the twist-both players suited up and played full workloads in Week 16. Bowers was on the field for all 53 offensive snaps, and Chinn didn’t miss a beat on defense, logging all 65 snaps.
That’s not exactly what you'd expect from guys supposedly too hurt to finish the year.
So naturally, this has sparked talk around the league. Are the Raiders subtly embracing the tank?
Head coach Pete Carroll and defensive anchor Maxx Crosby have pushed back hard against that idea, insisting the team is locked in on closing the season strong. But when you shelve two key starters with two games left and a shot at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft hanging in the balance, questions are going to be asked.
And then, just hours later, the Kansas City Chiefs answered with some curious decisions of their own.
Kansas City placed four players on IR, including standout wide receiver Rashee Rice, All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, wideout Tyquan Thornton, and starting cornerback Jaylen Watson. Three of those four-Rice, McDuffie, and Thornton-were already sidelined in Week 16 against the Titans.
Watson, though? He played 59 of the defense’s 73 snaps and didn’t appear to suffer any visible injury during the game.
Sure, NFL players are always dealing with bumps and bruises, especially this late in the season. But the timing here feels telling.
With Kansas City out of playoff contention, it seems the organization is shifting its focus toward 2026. The Chiefs didn’t just match the Raiders’ IR moves-they one-upped them, placing four players on the list after the Raiders had already shut down Bowers, Chinn, and offensive lineman Jordan Meredith earlier in the week.
For the Raiders, this development could be huge. They’re still in the thick of the race for the top pick, and they’ll face this depleted Chiefs squad in Week 18. What was once a potentially tough divisional clash now looks like a matchup between backups and bottom-of-the-depth-chart players on both sides.
At the start of the season, Raider Nation might’ve circled that finale as a possible win-maybe Kansas City would’ve had the division locked up, resting starters. But now?
The Raiders won’t even be facing Gardner Minshew. Instead, it’ll be a third-string quarterback and a patchwork lineup that might resemble a preseason roster more than a regular-season one.
Before that, though, the Raiders take on the 2-13 New York Giants this weekend-a team that’s also limping to the finish line. Several Giants players have already been held out of practice this week, and it wouldn’t be shocking if New York made similar roster decisions in the coming days.
The reality is, the race for draft position is heating up, and teams near the bottom of the standings are starting to show their cards. Whether it’s strategic roster management or subtle tanking, the message is clear: April’s draft is looming large, and no one wants to be left behind.