Drew

Carter

The 5th-round pick out of Ohio State will miss the season.

He has a trip to Tampa scheduled after that. Carter has the type of speed Al Davis is always looking for, but has never been a full-time player before.

Justin McCareins, a similar player with more experience, is also in town. The Raiders hosted Carter last week, but chose to overpay Javon Walker instead.

We don’t put much stock in summer practice reports for most veterans, but Walker is a different case. He has a ton to prove after looking like a shell of his former self last winter because of his chronic knee problems. We are ranking him as a fantasy reserve until he shows something, and this is a rough start.

Carter and Curry were “co-starters” on Oakland’s initial depth chart, but Carter’s practice play has fallen off and he’s clearly a third receiver now. We project Curry to lead the Raiders with 60 grabs for 775 yards this season.

That’s three more receptions than Drew Carter had. Though Curry and Carter are listed as “co-starters” on the depth chart, Curry is the clear favorite to start.

An annual training camp star, it would be nice to see Carter translate some of his ability into game performances. No word on whether this injury is serious, although Carter has been relatively healthy since missing his rookie season with a torn ACL.

Carter left Friday’s preseason opener with a bum knee, but he’s healthy. Ronald Curry was held out Sunday after missing the exhibition game due to a tight hamstring. Curry and Carter are competing to start.

This won’t end his career, but he’ll probably have to take a deal for the minimum to catch on somewhere next year, when he’s a free agent. Carter will be 28 when the 2009 season starts. Any loss of explosiveness would be crushing, as Carter doesn’t have reliable hands and shies from contact.

Curry will act as the third receiver. Both could end up starting if (or, more likely when) Javon Walker is benched, but Carter looks to have an edge at the “Z” for now. Curry could still lead the Raiders in catches if he’s No. 3 because he’s so effective in the slot. He caught 62 passes there in 2006.