On the first day of the Oakland Raiders' OTAs, running back Darren McFaddenpracticed in full view of the media for the first time since suffering a foot injury last October, and Steve Corkran of the Bay Area News Group reports the 2008 first round pick appeared to do so without limitation.
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"Darren McFadden looks full go out here. Running, catching, cutting, doing every drill," Corkran observed.
Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer, who has yet to share the field with McFadden in a regular-season game, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that McFadden is a sight to behold.
"That's the hardest thing for me right now is you want to watch him cause he's so electrifying and he can do so many different things," Palmer said. "But I have a job on bootlegs and things like that and I have to make sure I get him the ball and then boot, but getting him on the field is just something the defense has to key on and really focus on and it's been great to work with."
McFadden was headed toward a breakout year with 610 yards and four touchdowns over the first six weeks of the season before suffering a season-ending Lisfranc injury to his right foot. Michael Bush replaced McFadden in the starting lineup and led the team with 977 yards and seven touchdowns.
Bush was signed to a four-year, $14-million contract by the Chicago Bears in March. While the Raiders have Taiwan Jones on roster and acquired Mike Goodson from the Carolina Panthers, they are counting on the dynamic McFadden to be healthy in 2012.
New Raiders coach Dennis Allen is among those who are eagerly anticipating McFadden playing a key role.
"Explosive home-run hitter on any given down, and those are guys that are tough to deal with because you might bottle them up for a while, but all it takes is one play and he hits a home run and ends up beating you," Allen told the AP. "So he's an exciting player. He's working hard out here every day to get better, to learn the system, to make sure he knows what to do and how to do it, and make sure he can execute under pressure."
We're still over two months away from the start of training camp and nearly four months away from the start of the regular season, but McFadden fully participating as the Raiders install Greg Knapp's offensive system is a very positive development.
