Raiders Rumors: Darren McFadden, Terrell Pryor, Khalif Barnes

Darren McFadden

Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times tweets that Raiders RB Darren McFadden looked like he’s “100.62 percent” during the team’s OTAs this week.

McFadden is coming off of Lisfranc injury that he suffered last year. The injury wound up costing him the remainder of the 2011 season, despite the fact that it didn’t seem to be that serious initially.

Having McFadden completely healthy is a big deal for this team, as they lost Michael Bush during free agency and will now have to move forward with Taiwan Jones and Mike Goodson as their No. 2 running backs.

Terrelle Pryor

Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times mentions that the Oakland Raiders current competition for the backup quarterback position is “wide open.”

Corkran adds that Terrelle Pryor “absolutely” has a shot at beating out recently signed Matt Leinart for the job.

While this very well could be the case, you’d have to think that Leinart at least has the edge because of the fact that he worked with Raiders new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp in Houston last year. Pryor will have to show plenty of ability and a solid understanding of the team’s offensive philosophy to push Leinart out of contention.

Khalif Barnes

Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times tweets that he expects Khalif Barnes to be the Raiders starting right tackle this season.

The fact that Oakland had only a few draft picks to work with, and very little cash to spend in free agency, leaves Barnes in a great position to be their starter this season.

Last year, Barnes struggled mightily, and the fact that Oakland is moving to a new zone-blocking scheme, will only make things harder on him. Should he struggle, there’s a decent chance that the Raiders could look to Joseph Barksdale to fill in, but there’s certainly a number of question marks in regards to the team’s offensive line.