In a move that probably should have been made at least nine weeks ago, the Raiders finally, mercifully, laughingly placed wide receiver/kick returner Nick Miller on the season-ending Injured Reserve list today with his injured shin.
Perhaps never in the history of the NFL had a team held open a roster spot for basically an entire season for an undersized, untested, unproven, undrafted rookie. Miller had not seen action since the preseason finale at Seattle on Sept. 3, when he averaged 30.8 yards on four kickoffs with a long of 51 yards, and he was expected to be the Raiders' kick returner.
The Raiders have the worst kickoff return average in the NFL at 18.3 yards.
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Joining Miller on the I.R. today was rookie linebacker Slade Norris (hamstring), who had a tackle and an assist Sunday in Cleveland. Taking their places on the roster for the season finale Sunday against Baltimore are safety Jerome Boyd and defensive end Greyson Gunheim, who were both signed off the practice squad.
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Darrius Heyward-Bey has returned to practice for the first time since suffering a sprained foot when an unnamed teammate stepped on it in practice on Dec. 4.
Asked what DHB's status was heading into this weekend, coach Tom Cable said, "We'll see as we go. Hopefully no setback. We'll see tomorrow in terms of how today went and how he recovers. But he looked fine today and he'll go in there and be part of the mix and then, (if he does play), he would go in as a backup."
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Justin Fargas (knee) Langston Walker (leg), Bruce Gradkowski (knees) and Greg Ellis (knee) did not practice while Chris Johnson strained a hamstring.








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