Wide receiver Louis Murphy was back at practice Wednesday for the first time in more than two months, and while there's no guarantee he'll be ready to go when the Raiders play in Houston on Sunday, his return will soon add another wide receiver to a crowded position group.
"He looked good," Raiders coach Hue Jackson said. "He ran around. It was his first extended practice, so we'll get an idea of how he feels tomorrow and go from there."
Murphy is the Raiders' most productive wide receiver over the past two seasons with 75 receptions for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns. He last practiced Aug. 1 and eventually had sports hernia surgery.
It will be interesting to see how playing time is distributed once Murphy joins fellow receivers Jacoby Ford, Darrius Heyward-Bey, rookie Denarius Moore, Chaz Schilens and Derek Hagan.
However it works out, Moore, with three touchdowns in his last three games, will get plenty of action.
"He's not in danger," Jackson said. "You earn what you get and get what you earn. All those other guys are back, and they'll earn their time -- they're good players. We'll give them opportunities as we continue to move forward. But they have nothing to do with Denarius Moore."
Defensive end Matt Shaughnessy, who injured a shoulder against the Jets on Sept. 25, did not practice and remains day-to-day. Jarvis Moss, who started in Shaughnessy's place, suffered a chest injury at practice and his status is not known.
If both are out, it means practice reps and possible game reps for Lamarr Houston and Trevor Scott, who normally work on a rotation basis opposite the side of Shaughnessy and Moss.
Safety Michael Huff was limited in practice Wednesday after missing the first game of his career, Sunday against New England, with concussion symptoms.
"I think he is getting there," Jackson said. "We're much closer to having him back out there permanently."
Huff was limited in practice last Wednesday as well but missed the Thursday and Friday practices.
Other players who were limited included quarterback Jason Campbell (foot), fullback Marcel Reece (ankle), cornerback Chris Johnson (hamstring) and tight end/fullback Richard Gordon (broken hand).
With Reece and Gordon both out, tight end Brandon Myers could see action at fullback in some packages.
Players listed on the injury report who were full-go in practice were running back Taiwan Jones (calf), safety Jerome Boyd (knee) and cornerback Chimdi Chekwa (hamstring).
Nic Grigsby, an undrafted free agent running back out of Arizona who was released off the Miami practice squad, was signed to the Raiders' practice squad. He replaces Ron Parker, a defensive back who was promoted to the 53-man roster last week.
i dont know if anyone mentioned this, but overshadowed in the loss to the patriots was DHB going for over 100. i think he had like 115 on 4 catches. he has stepped it up compared to his horrible seasons of the past. he actually knows how to catch a little more, but i still would like to see him come back to get the ball. who should be our starting 2? at this point in the season im going with DHB and D.Mo
