Raiders Notes: Matt Flynn, D.J. Hayden, Latavius Murray

Matt Flynn

Raiders HC Dennis Allen reiterated on Wednesday that the starting quarterback job is Matt Flynn’s to lose.

“Matt’s our starting quarterback as we go forward right now,” Allen said, via the Contra Costa Times, “and until the competition dictates otherwise, that’s where we’re going.”

There’s been a good deal of buzz surrounding the play of fourth-round pick Tyler Wilson since rookie camp opened a few weeks ago. Clearly, it’s still very early in the offseason and there’s plenty of time for Flynn to separate himself from Wilson and Terrelle Pryor, but this is at least something to monitor in the coming months.

D.J. Hayden

Raiders first-round pick CB D.J. Hayden recently underwent abdominal surgery to have scar tissue removed.

Initial reports suggested that Hayden’s surgery was not related to his previous heart surgery, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that a team source has informed him that the injury is in fact related to his heart surgery.

A number of teams reportedly had concerns regarding Hayden’s heart surgery, but it didn’t prevent the Raiders from selecting at No. 12 overall. Hayden is now expected to be out until training camp.

“We can’t rule that out, obviously, but right now I don’t know exactly what the correlation is to it,” said HC Dennis Allen. “But we don’t anticipate it being an issue.“

Hayden suffered a freak injury while colliding with a teammate at Houston that resulted in a torn blood vessel and nearly killed him.

Latavius Murray 

HC Dennis Allen mentioned that sixth-round RB Latavius Murray has stood out during the team’s OTAs.

“Probably the thing that’s been most impressive is that he’s picked up everything offensively from a schematic standpoint, assignment wise,” Allen said, via the Contra Costa Times. “He’s done a great job. He’s done a nice job in pass protection. That’s one of the things you see with young backs that they struggle with at times.”

Murray displayed some versatility, which should help him carve out a role on special teams and possibly in the team’s offense. Oakland could use some additional help at running back, so it will be interesting to see if he’s able to consistently turn heads throughout offseason workouts.