Raiders have high hopes for David Ausberry

For the second off-season in a row, the Raiders are looking for big things from tight end, David Ausberry. He was the projected starting tight end last off-season until he went down with a shoulder injury in the preseason and was placed on injured reserve for the season.

At last year's OTA's, Ausberry had bulked up quite a bit. The former receiver always had the receiving skills for the position but he finally had the physique to go along with it.

He took the field today for organized practice for the first time since suffering that injury last August and picked up right where he left off. He was making some nice catches, showing burst, and plenty of bulk to hold up at the positon.

"It's been good to have David back out here," said Dennis Allen. "He was a guy that we had high hopes for last year and unfortunately got hurt in that first preseason game. He's a guy that again he's got talent, he's got ability especially as a receiving threat so he's a nice piece to the puzzle and hopefully he'll continue to develop and hopefully he'll stay healthy and we'll be able to use him this year."

Allen would not confirm whether Ausberry was working with the first team offense but he was the primary tight end catching several passes from Matt Schaub. From the looks of it, the starting tight end job is again Ausberry's to lose.

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