MKRob Sports

Javon Walker, signed by the Raiders in 2008 to be their No. 1 receiver, has asked for his release.

The veteran wideout is looking for a chance to resurrect his NFL career with a team interested in a former Pro Bowl player who believes he is in his prime. Nowadays, he is nothing more than an afterthought on the Raiders.

“That would be nice,” Walker said earlier this week, “because, the thing about it is, it’s not that I can’t play. I can play. From everyone who sees me at practice, I still got it going on.”

Thursday was an exception, as Walker left practice early with a hamstring injury.

Walker struggled through his first season with the Raiders. He battled another hamstring injury most of training camp last year, missed the first game, then caught only 15 passes in eight games before a season-ending ankle injury.

Walker has overcome surgeries on his ankle and knee within the past year and said he has worked his way back into the best shape of his eight-year NFL career. But he hasn’t caught a pass through the first eight games.

Now the expected return of No. 1 receiver Chaz Schilens on Sunday against Kansas City all but assures Walker spending the rest of the season buried on the depth chart, if not on the bench.

“If you get an injury here, an injury there, then he’s the next guy,” coach Tom Cable said when asked what it would take for Walker to see the field again. “That has kind of been his role in this whole thing.”

CONTINUE READING