Raiders Blog and Q&A

The Raiders have ruled receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (concussion, neck strain) and tight end Richard Gordon (hamstring) out for Sunday's game against the Broncos. Gordon was a late addition to the injury report Friday after practice, with a team spokesman saying he was hurt at practice.

Heyward-Bey wasn't going to play anyway -- he's still focused on coming back fully from the concussion. That means more snaps for Derek Hagan, who had a couple of catches on the Raiders' game-winning drive against the Steelers and may start along with Denarius Moore instead of rookie Rod Streater. Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp said this about Hagan during the week:

"Derek has really taken to the offense pretty well -- Hagan. This week, the last two days, we've had very good practices with the young guys (Streater and fellow rookie Juron Criner), but they are still young guys and I hate to put the burden on a rookie receiver if we don't have to. You'll probably see a rotation with all four of them playing some sort. I've been very impressed with Derek and how quickly he's learned the offense."

Knapp also said that Hagan's experience means, "He'll be able to handle probably releases off press coverage from (Broncos cornerback) Champ Bailey a little more than a rookie because he's handled that in his past."

Hagan has 8 catches for 84 yards on the season. Streater has caught 8 balls for 68 yards and a touchdown. Criner does not have a catch yet.

-- Matt Kawahara

ALAMEDA -- Raiders receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey said he doesn't remember the hit that knocked him out of Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a concussion and neck strain. Heyward-Bey had to be carted off the field after about 10 minutes and hospitalized following the fourth-quarter hit by Steelers safety Ryan Mundy.

"I don't remember any of it," said Heyward-Bey, who added that his first memory is "Riding off on the cart."

Heyward-Bey was the intended receiver on a Carson Palmer pass when Mundy, coming in to break up the play, caught Heyward-Bey hard across the facemask with the top of his helmet. The replacement refereeing crew did not throw a flag on the play, but the league reportedly hit Mundy with a $21,000 fine for the hit.

ALAMEDA -- Veteran defensive end Andre Carter said he "felt good" in his first practice with the Raiders Thursday, a day after signing with the team. Carter is coming off of a torn quadriceps suffered at the end of last season.

"They're being smart as far as just slowly working me in from a physical standpoint, because it's been a while, and also just giving me an opportunity to learn the scheme," Carter said. "It's all a matter of baby steps."

Head coach Dennis Allen said it hasn't been determined whether Carter will play Sunday against the Denver Broncos. Allen said Carter "looked pretty good" in practice. When Carter is ready to play, Allen said you'll see him lining up on both the left and right sides.

"We've got the rest of the day. We've got all day tomorrow and Saturday to try to get him ready," Allen said. "So we'll see where he's at."

Carter worked out for the Raiders twice before signing, the first time at their training camp in Alameda. Allen said the Raiders wanted to get a look at Carter then and "weren't ready at that particular time to make any moves. And then when we decided to bring him back, we just wanted to double-check where he was and we liked what we saw."

As for picking up the Raiders' scheme, Carter said he's "getting there."

"Everybody has a different scheme, but I think this scheme in general is pretty simple as far as understanding the terminology and understanding the basis of what they're trying to do," he said.

* Defensive tackle Richard Seymour (knee) practiced Thursday after being held out the day before. Receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (concussion, neck strain), tackle Khalif Barnes (groin) and cornerback Shawntae Spencer (foot) did not practice.

Receiver Rod Streater (poked in eye) and center/guard Alex Parsons (shoulder) were each a full go after being limited on Wednesday.

-- Matt Kawahara

ALAMEDA -- Linebacker Carl Ihenacho wasn't in the wind for long. The Raiders, who cut Ihenacho from the active roster on Tuesday to make room for linebacker Vic So'oto, signed Ihenacho to their practice squad today. They released defensive back Akwasi Owusu-Ansah from the practice squad to clear a spot.

There was no sign of receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (concussion, neck strain), offensive tackle Khalif Barnes (groin) or cornerback Shawntae Spencer (foot) when the Raiders began their practice this morning. Defensive end Andre Carter, whom the Raiders signed yesterday, is practicing and wearing No. 97.

Defensive tackle Richard Seymour, who was held out of practice Wednesday (knee), is back on the field. So is tight end Brandon Myers (concussion), who was prohibited from contact yesterday.

-- Matt Kawahara

ALAMEDA -- With a pass rush that has managed three sacks through its first three games, the Raiders today brought in some veteran reinforcements. The Raiders signed Andre Carter, the former Cal star and San Francisco 49ers first-round pick who had 10 sacks last year for the New England Patriots in an injury-shortened season.

Carter, 33, has played in 163 career games with 76 sacks, the eighth-highest sack total among active NFL players. He was named to the Pro Bowl last year as a starter, but suffered a torn quadriceps on Dec. 20 that caused him to miss the final two games of the regular season and the playoffs.

The Raiders brought Carter in for two workouts -- once during training camp in Napa and once at their headquarters in Alameda -- before signing him. Carter said he went through a rigorous rehab schedule to get back into shape after his injury and that while it will likely take a little while to get comfortable in the Raiders' defense, he feels like he could contribute if called upon right away.

"I would hope so," Carter said. "I'd certainly hope so. If I wasn't ready then I wouldn't be here."

Offensive tackle Joe Barksdale, a third-round pick last year, was cut Wednesday to make room on the active roster.

Carter, a Bay Area native who finished his Cal career as the school's all-time leader with 31 sacks, was the seventh overall selection in the 2001 draft by the 49ers and played five seasons in San Francisco and five seasons with the Washington Redskins before signing last year with the Patriots.

-- Matt Kawahara

ALAMEDA -- The website Pro Football Talk is citing ESPN's Adam Schefter in reporting that Steelers safety Ryan Mundy has been fined $21,000 for the helmet-to-helmet hit on Raiders receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey on Sunday that sent Heyward-Bey to the hospital with a concussion and neck strain.

As Mundy tried to break up a fourth-quarter pass for Heyward-Bey in the Raiders' 34-31 win over the Steelers, the top of his helmet caught Heyward-Bey across the facemask. Heyward-Bey was knocked unconscious on the play and eventually carted off the field. No flag was thrown.

Heyward-Bey spent the night in the hospital for observation and was released Monday. He is expected to make a full recovery, though it's unclear when he'll be able to return to playing. Head coach Dennis Allen said Monday he didn't think Mundy intended to injure Heyward-Bey on the play.

* Offensive tackle Joe Barksdale was not with the Raiders when they began practicing this morning, though a team spokesman said as the session started that Barksdale is officially still a member of the Raiders' roster. The website "The Sideline View" reported this morning that the Raiders third-round pick from 2011 was waived.

Tight end Brandon Myers, who suffered a concussion late in Sunday's game, was at practice, so he's at least partway through the battery of league concussion tests he needs to pass to be cleared for Sunday.

Cornerback Shawntae Spencer was not at practice. Right tackle Khalif Barnes was on the field watching. New linebacker Vic So'oto, signed yesterday, is practicing and wearing No. 54, as is wide receiver Tori Gurley, wearing No. 19. The Raiders announced this morning they signed Gurley, a free agent, to the practice squad.

-- Matt Kawahara

ALAMEDA -- The Raiders announced they have signed receiver Tori Gurley to the practice squad. Gurley was recently waived from the Minnesota Vikings' practice squad and spent last year on the practice squad of the Green Bay Packers, where current Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie oversaw personnel.

Gurley posted to his Twitter account last night: "I'm officially an Oakland Raider!!! So blessed & thankful to be in the NFL".

Darrius Heyward-Bey's concussion and neck strain leaves the Raiders with four healthy receivers on the active roster. They also have receiver Travionte Session on the practice squad. A spot on the practice squad was already open after the Raiders cut defensive tackle Vaughn Meatoga yesterday.

The Raiders have not confirmed whether they cut offensive tackle Joe Barksdale, as was reported this morning on the website "The Sideline View." Barksdale was one of two players taken by the Raiders in the third round of last year's draft and played in all 16 games last season, but has yet to be active through the first three games this year.

The Raiders' other third-round selection last year was cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke, who was cut earlier this month.

-- Matt Kawahara

The Raiders announced today they signed free agent linebacker Vic So'oto, another former Green Bay Packer, and released Carl Ihenacho to clear a spot on the active roster.

So'oto played in seven games with the Packers last season, recording seven tackles and a sack on defense. Green Bay placed him on injured reserve with an ankle injury on Aug. 31 and waived him Sept. 10.

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie came from the Packers, where he worked in personnel. The Raiders last week signed cornerback Brandian Ross from the Packers' practice squad, and corner Pat Lee also played in Green Bay last year.

The Raiders also released defensive tackle Vaughn Meatoga from the practice squad. 

ALAMEDA -- Raiders head coach Dennis Allen is always cool, calm and collected when talking to reporters and in front of cameras. It looks like he can also be pretty creative when it comes to motivating his players. When the Raiders' locker room was opened to the media today, a handful of lockers held baseball bats engraved with "Raiders vs. Steelers" and, in quotes, "Bring the wood."

Defensive tackle Richard Seymour had mentioned after the Raiders beat the Steelers 34-31 on Sunday, when asked about the defense's two fourth-quarter stops, that the coaches "gave us bats early on in the week and said just keep swinging, and that's what we tried to do - bring the wood, keep swinging. We had to finish better than we did in the past two games and I thought we did that collectively as a team."

Apparently Seymour wasn't talking in metaphor. Linebacker Philip Wheeler expounded on the bats today, saying they were distributed a couple days before the game and didn't only go to defensive players.

"The whole team got the bats," Wheeler said. "That was the theme, man. Coach D.A. was telling us, man, it's going to be one of those fights you've got to swing our bats for 60 minutes, and that's what we did.

"Something good to just motivate us," Wheeler added, "and it was a good motivation."

Indeed, the Raiders trailed the entire game against the Steelers until Sebastian Janikowski's game-winning, 43-yard field goal split the uprights as time expired.

-- Matt Kawahara

ALAMEDA -- Raiders head coach Dennis Allen said he saw no intent to harm on the helmet-to-helmet hit that knocked receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey unconscious during Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and that the officials' decision not to throw a flag on the play was a "judgment call."

Heyward-Bey was the intended receiver on a fourth-quarter pass from Carson Palmer when he was hit by Steelers safety Ryan Mundy, whose helmet caught Heyward-Bey across the facemask. Heyward-Bey stayed down on the field for about 10 minutes before being carted off the field and taken to the hospital with a concussion and neck strain. He was released this morning and is expected to make a full recovery.

Asked for his reaction when he watched the play on film, Allen said: "Listen, it's the game of football. I don't think people are trying to go out there and hurt people. I think the safety was playing the game fast and physical. It's a tough game to play when you're making split-second decisions on how you play the game. It's an unfortunate thing that happens in the game, but we move on from it."

After the game, Raiders receiver Derek Hagan and defensive tackle Tommy Kelly were both critical of the fact that no penalty was called.

"Obviously the refs, sometimes they're going to make the calls, sometimes they're not," Hagan said. "I definitely don't want to rip into them, but I really felt like it was one of those calls that should've been made. But they didn't throw the flag, they missed it."

Allen was asked pointedly if he was surprised by the no-call and answered just as pointedly.

"It's a judgment call," he said.

Allen said he talked with Heyward-Bey this morning and that the receiver "sounded tired" but "was in good spirits."

"It was a scary situation, and we're blessed and we're fortunate that he's going to be fine," Allen said. "That's part of this game that we play and it's a tough part of the game, but we're happy that Darrius is going to be fine."

Allen didn't speculate on when Heyward-Bey will be able to return -- he must at least be cleared under the league's concussion protocol first -- and with only four healthy receivers remaining on the active roster, Allen said he and general manager Reggie McKenzie would likely discuss later today whether to add another wideout.

Tight end Brandon Myers, who also suffered a concussion late in the Raiders' 34-31 win over the Steelers, "feels fine, no headaches," Allen said.

"He's still got to go through the protocol of passing all the tests," Allen said. "But it didn't seem to be severe."

-- Matt Kawahara

ALAMEDA -- Receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey was released this morning from the Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley and is resting at home with a concussion and neck strain, the Raiders announced today. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Heyward-Bey was knocked unconscious and carted off the field during the fourth quarter of the Raiders' 34-31 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. He was injured on a helmet-to-helmet hit from Steelers safety Ryan Mundy while reaching for a pass from Carson Palmer.

Heyward-Bey was taken to the hospital, where he stayed overnight for observation.

The Raiders currently have four other receivers on their active roster including rookie Juron Criner, who was inactive Sunday.

-- Matt Kawahara

OAKLAND -- While trainers tended to a motionless Darrius Heyward-Bey in front of a hushed crowd at O.co Coliseum and players from both the Raiders and Steelers watching anxiously, Raiders punter Shane Lechler said he was looking for movement. He got it as Heyward-Bey was being carted off the field. The Raiders receiver, knocked unconscious on the field on a pass play minutes earlier, raised his right hand.

"You could tell the whole stadium was anticipating it, hoping he was going to do that just to let everybody know," Lechler said.

Heyward-Bey was taken to the Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where a team spokesman said he was stable and would be held overnight for observation. The Raiders announced during the game that Heyward-Bey had a neck injury. After the Raiders beat the Steelers, 34-31, head coach Dennis Allen said Heyward-Bey has a concussion.

Heyward-Bey was the intended receiver on a Carson Palmer pass in the end zone early in the fourth quarter when he was hit by Steelers safety Ryan Mundy. The top of Mundy's helmet appeared to catch Heyward-Bey flush in the facemask. No flag was thrown on the play. Heyward-Bey's head also hit the ground as he went down.

Trainers crowded around Heyward-Bey for about 10 minutes on the field before loading him onto a cart to be taken off the field. Mundy was visibly affected and after the game said, according to the Associated Press: "We don't try to injure people or anything like that. We understand this is people's livelihood. We take that serious."

Allen said that Heyward-Bey "was able to talk a little bit" before being taken off the field and "was able to move his extremities, so that was a good sign."

Down by 10 at that point, the Raiders outscored the Steelers 13-0 the rest of the way for their first win of the season.

"We care about all these players and there's a lot of camaraderie that goes into a football team," Allen said. "You put a lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears, into trying to build a championship team, so when one of your guys goes down, especially in a situation like that, it's hard to keep your focus. I thought our guys did an outstanding job of getting their focus back, coming back and executing and winning the game in the fourth quarter."

-- Matt Kawahara

OAKLAND -- Receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey was carted off the field following a hard hit with 14:31 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Raiders' game against the Steelers. The Raiders announced Heyward-Bey was knocked unconscious on the play and has been taken to the hospital with a neck injury.

Heyward-Bey was the intended receiver of a pass by Carson Palmer that was broken up by Steelers safety Ryan Mundy. Replays appeared to show the top of Mundy's helmet catching Heyward-Bey on the jaw. As Heyward-Bey went to the ground, his facemask again struck the turf.

Heyward-Bey was down for about 10 minutes while trainers tended to him and Raiders and Steelers players stood and kneeled watching. Trainers immobilized Heyward-Bey and placed him on a cart to be taken off the field. As he was driven off, Heyward-Bey raised his right arm.

-- Matt Kawahara

OAKLAND -- The Raiders have gained 105 yards on offense in the first half against the Steelers -- and 64 of those yards came on one play -- yet they trail the Steelers by a field goal at halftime, 17-14. Darren McFadden broke free for the big gain on his first carry from scrimmage, a play that quarterback Carson Palmer appeared to check to after drawing some movement from the Steelers defensive line with a hard snap count.

The Raiders have been saying all week they felt they just needed to pop a big run or two to jump-start their zone-blocking running game. But that hasn't really been the case so far. McFadden has four yards on his five carries since, and the lack of a consistent running game has contributed to the Raiders going 0-for-4 on third downs.

The Raiders turned a fumble recovery at the Steelers' 30 -- the first turnover they've forced this season -- into a touchdown just before halftime with Palmer finding Darrius Heyward-Bey in the corner of the end zone. Palmer is 6-of-10 for 37 yards. His first pass attempt was intercepted after his intended receiver, Denarius Moore, slipped on the infield dirt here at O.co Coliseum on the Raiders' first play of the game.

Time of possession is skewed way toward the Steelers, who have held the ball for 21 minutes, 36 seconds despite almost no running game (12 carries, 28 yards). Ben Roethlisberger has already thrown 31 passes, completing 22 for 207 yards and a pair of 4-yard touchdown strikes to tight end Heath Miller. Roethlisberger has completed passes to 10 different receivers.

Early on Roethlisberger went hard after Michael Huff, the Raiders' safety who started at cornerback with both season-opening starters out. The Steelers have had success a couple of times with quick passes to the receiver on Huff's side and Huff giving a big cushion. Huff left the game briefly on the Steelers' first drive after he appeared to hurt his leg running into a Pittsburgh receiver near the line of scrimmage, but returned after just one play.

-- Matt Kawahara

OAKLAND -- With right tackle Khalif Barnes and fellow offensive linemen Joe Barksdale and Lucas Nix all inactive today for the Raiders, rookie and top draft pick Tony Bergstrom will be active for the first time this season today against the Steelers. Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp said Bergstrom, who is listed as the backup left guard, has been working in at tackle in practice, so he figures to be the backup tackle today with Barnes out and Willie Smith in line to start at right guard.

Receiver Juron Criner is inactive, meaning the Raiders will dress only four receivers -- Darrius Heyward-Bey, Denarius Moore, Rod Streater and Derek Hagan. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor isn't active, so Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau won't have to worry about any wildcat running plays involving Pryor (LeBeau reportedly said this week, in the spirit of being prepared for everything, that he wasn't ruling out the Raiders running the wildcat formation this week).

Recently signed cornerback Brandian Ross is active. Injured cornerback Shawntae Spencer and defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi are the Raiders' other two inactive players.

Inactive for the Steelers are quarterback Charlie Batch, running back Rashard Mendenhall, safety Troy Polamalu, linebacker Stevenson Sylvester, linebacker Adrian Robinsonnose tackle Alameda Ta'amu, offensive tackle Mike Adams and linebacker James Harrison.

Meanwhile, here's the preview stuff from this morning's paper, including our story on the Raiders readying for the elusive Ben Roethlisberger and game plan with keys to the game and the matchup to watch.

-- Matt Kawahara