The Oakland Raiders Monday practice saw the return of Darren McFadden, Jacoby Ford, Taiwan Jones and even Trevor Scott. It did not see the return of Jason Campbell. According to Jerry McDonald, Hue Jackson said that Campbell had not yet passed his concussion tests. Meanwhile, Campbell told Comcast Sportsnet that he had whiplash. While all indications are that Jason Campbell will return to the practice field soon, I still wouldn't be surprised if he missed the next preseason game.
Reportedly, Kyle Boller and Trent Edwards did not look good filling in. McDonald reported that lots of balls hit the ground on Monday. Jackson owed it up to the QBs working with different rotations, but it is never a good thing to have the passing game misfiring. After all, if these QBs are thrown into action in the regular season, they are going to be working with different "rotations."
Let's just get the bad news out of the way first. After the jump....
- Travis Goethel left practice with an undisclosed injury. Given the fact that Goethel mysteriously disappeared from practices last year and we later found out he had back surgery, this news is a touch bit alarming.
- Mike Mitchell was also seen on crutches. This is a bad sign. the fact that he has been away for a couple of weeks, and just now was seen on crutches does not bode well for his chances to be ready for the start of the regular season. Given the way Jerome Boyd looked on Saturday filling in for Mitchell, all I can say is heal fast Mike!
- Somewhere a report came out that Kevin Boss' timetable to return was two to six weeks. He was seen working hard on a stationary bike. And that is reason enough to hope he will be ready for the opener.
- I did not see any word on Stephon Heyer. I take this as he is still out with his triceps injury.
Now for some far better news.
Hue Jackson, per Vittorio Tafur:
"We got some of my toys back. I'm excited about that."
- Those toys would be McFadden, Ford and Jones. They all were reported to look strong and in good health. Jones apparently broke off one long run and flashed his blazing speed. I can't wait to see him in a game.
- Trevor Scott also returned, and I am sure that made for a great day for Scott. It is his first return to action since blowing out his ACL. I'll be interested to see if he has his explosion when he takes to the field. For a defensive end that relies mostly on his speed, this will be huge.