Darius Heyward-Bey Looks to Guide Young Receivers

At the age of 25 Darius Heyward-Bey  is the one of the oldest receivers the Raiders have.  His first two years with the Raiders he combined for 490 yards, but in 2011 he quietly had a breakout year for the Raiders.

 He had  64 catches and 975 yards – the most by a Raiders receiver since 2004. After a couple years under his belt he now feels comfortable where he is at and where his fellow teammates are as well.

With the emergence of Juron Criner and Rod Streater to help compliment Jacoby Ford along with Denarius Moore the Raiders now have multiple big-play receivers. With the guidance of Heyward-Bey the Raiders young receivers are beginning to fit in with the NFL pace.

“I’m the old guy in the receivers room now,” he said. “The other guys are always asking me questions, and I kind of like that.”

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Raiders Wide Receiver Injuries Starting to Cause Concern

The Oakland Raiders have always been interested in speed, speed, and more speed. And if there's one thing we can all agree on, its that the Raiders' receiving core is built around just that. Just look at the numbers. Between Oakland's three main receivers (Darrius Heyward-Bey, Jacoby Ford, and Denarius Moore) they share an average 40-yard dash time of 4.3! Don't forgot that Ford ran a blazing 4.28 in the dash during the 2010 NFL combine, which ranks second fastest of all time, only behind Tennessee's star running back Chris Johnson. However, once these speedsters go down with an injury, all sorts of questions rise along with concern. When will they be back? How effective will they be? The answers that the fans want to hear are often not the ones they receive.

Injury. Blemish. Damage. Wound. However you put it, it never sounds good. And for the Oakland Raiders, it sounds even worse. Starter Denarius Moore hasn't practiced since early on in training camp due to a hamstring injury. Head coach Dennis Allen said Moore is "running a round a little bit", but that doesn't sound too promising. Another starter, Jacoby Ford, was jogging earlier today for the first time since spraining his left foot on August 17th against the Arizona Cardinals. This left foot injury isn't anything new for Ford. Last year, the Raiders' top kickoff and punt returner missed six games due to the same injury. He hopes to be running on the field soon, and when he does, he expects to do so well-prepared. Eric Gilmore of CBSSports.com reported that Jacoby plans to wear a "special shoe" that will help to take pressure off of his foot.

And if that isn't bad enough, impressive rookie Juron Criner also isn't at full health. During today's practice, Criner was running routes on a hobbled right ankle. Yet, Dennis Allen didn't seem too concerned, as he said that: "It's a long time until Monday night, so we'll be fine there".

With those injuries, Oakland hopes to have Ford, Moore, and Criner out on the field as soon as possible. Until then, look for rookie Rod Streater to get a lot of action, as he clinched a spot on the final 53-man roster after exploding during training camp and the preseason. The undrafted rookie from Temple looks to fill some pretty big shoes this season, starting with San Diego on Monday.

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Raiders Sign Return Man Roscoe Parrish

Update - 12:48 PM: The Raiders have officially announced the signing of Roscoe Smith.

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With Jacoby Ford's left foot injury, the Raiders are looking for as much insurance in the return game as possible. 

Reports indicate that the Raiders have signed return-specialist Roscoe Parrish, who was cut by San Diego.

Parrish, 30, has averaged 12.0 yards on 135 punt returns in his seven-year career, leading the league with averages of 16.3 yards in 2007 and 15.3 yards in 2008, with three touchdowns.

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