Injured Carr takes some snaps
For a man with a fracture in his back, quarterback Derek Carr looked pretty mobile Thursday.
At the Raiders’ afternoon practice, Carr participated in all the stretching drills with the team and took several snaps. Backup EJ Manuel also took snaps. Media members are allowed to watch the first 30 minutes of practice. Carr appeared to have some sort of padding under his red sleeveless practice jersey. He was listed on the team injury report as “limited.” On Monday, head coach Jack
Del Rio said that Carr had been diagnosed with a transverse process fracture in his back, the result of a hit late in the third quarter of the Raiders’ loss in Denver on Sunday. Del Rio said the prognosis was that Carr would miss two to six weeks, leading to the assumption that he would be out this Sunday against Baltimore and that Manuel would get the start.
Other players — Tony Romo and Cam Newton — with similar injuries have returned relatively quickly.
“He’s ahead of schedule,” said tackle Donald Penn, who is, of course, neither a doctor nor a team trainer.
On Friday, the Raiders will submit an injury report to the league listing Carr’s status.
The manual on Manuel: Offensive coordinator Todd Downing worked with Manuel in Buffalo, where Downing was the quarterbacks coach in 2014. “I’ve known EJ for a long time. I coached him in the Senior Bowl,” Downing said. “It’s pretty obvious to see the physical traits that made him a firstround draft choice. He’s a big, strong guy. He can whip the ball all over the yard.
“I love his zest for the game. I knew that was still in him when I supported us bringing him in here. He’s a guy that’s always hungry to learn and get better. He’s done exactly that since he got here.”
Injury updates: Michael Crabtree, who missed Sunday’s game with a chest injury, took part in practice for the second straight day. Though he was listed as limited Wednesday, he was a full participant Thursday. Also listed as “full” partcipants: Amari Cooper (knee) and Mario Edwards, Jr. (back). Listed as limited: David Amerson (concussion), Gareon Conley (shin) and DeAndre Washington (hamstring). Starting guard Gabe Jackson missed practice for the second straight day with a foot injury.