Darrius Heyward-Bey is still not recovered from the concussion he suffered last Sunday, putting his chances of playing this weekend in doubt. (US Presswire)


Raiders starting wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey missed practice again Thursday, four days after suffering a concussion and strained neck against Pittsburgh.

“He’s here today,” Raiders coach Dennis Allen said. “He’s going to be fine. He’s still got to go through the protocol of the concussions, and he hasn’t passed those tests yet.”

If Heyward-Bey misses Sunday’s game at Denver, which appears highly likely, the question is who will start in his place. Rookie Rod Streater started the opener against San Diego in place of an injured Denarius Moore, but offensive coordinator Greg Knapp hinted strongly that veteran Derek Hagan would get the start this time.

“Derek has really taken to the offense pretty well,” Knapp said. “This week the last two days we’ve had very good practices with the young guys (Streater and rookie Juron Criner), but they are still young guys, and I hate to put the burden on a rookie receiver if we don’t have to.

“You’ll probably see a rotation with all four of them playing. I’ve been very impressed with Derek and how quickly he’s learned the offense.”

Hagan has eight catches for 84 yards this season, including a key 17-yarder during the Raiders’ drive for a game-winning field goal against Pittsburgh. For his career, the seven-year veteran has 117 catches for 1,305 yards and six TDs.

Carter catching on: Defensive end Andre Carter , who signed Wednesday afternoon with the Raiders, went through his first practice Thursday.

“I felt good,” Carter said. “And they’re being smart about as far as slowly working me in from a physical standpoint because it’s been a while, and also just to give me an opportunity to learn the scheme. It’s all a matter of baby steps.”

Allen said he still hasn’t decided how much, if any, Carter will play Sunday.

“We’ll see. He was out here today and practiced and looked pretty good in practice today,” Allen said. “So we’ll see as we continue through the week. We’ve got the rest of the day. We’ve got all day tomorrow and Saturday to try to get him ready.”

Carter said he’s “getting there” as far as learning the Raiders’ defense.

“Just learning the basics and getting to understand the philosophy. This is my seventh head coach and seventh defensive coordinator. So I’ve been around,” Carter said. “Everybody has a different scheme, but I think this scheme in general is pretty simple in terms of understanding the terminology and understanding the basis of what they’re trying to do.”

Practice squad shuffle: The Raiders signed outside linebacker Carl Ihenacho and cut defensive back Akwasi Owusu-Ansah . Ihenacho, a first-year pro out of San Jose State, was waived from the 53-man roster Tuesday when the Raiders signed outside linebacker Vic So’oto.

Injury report: OT Khalif Barnes (groin), Heyward-Bey and Spencer were the only Raiders who missed practice. Six players were limited: RB Darren McFadden (shoulder), RB Mike Goodson (hamstring), TE Brandon Myers (concussion), K Sebastian Janikowski, DT Tommy Kelly (knee) and DT Richard Seymour (DT).

According to Allen, McFadden bruised his shoulder against Pittsburgh.

“He’s practiced both days and that really hasn’t been a factor,” Allen said.

Myers has practiced the past two days but was limited and has yet to be cleared for contact.

Follow Raiders reporter Eric Gilmore on Twitter: @CBSRaiders.