RobZ28

A few days ago I found Metal in the oil and I was so worried that the bearings were gonna go bad and I was gonna have to get a rebuild with no money. I talked to my friend at work and he said he would take off the valve covers first since it is easier to check. We took them off and on the drivers side, the first rocker arm nearest the front, had a small ***** if meatl missing( which is what I saw in my oil). The other rockers on the engine had very few scratches. My questions are do I have to replace them? We are probably going to Realign the rockers pretty soon. If that doesn't fix the problem, what would be causing the rockers to do this?