Injuries

McFadden, Russell undergo surgeries (w/update)

It turns out the future faces of the Raiders have some offseason healing to do.

Raiders running back Darren McFadden, the No. 4 overall pick of last year's draft, underwent minor surgery on his left shoulder, a family member said in confirming a previously undisclosed procedure.

Former No. 1 overall draft pick JaMarcus Russell had his own minor surgery last week to remove bone chips in his right ankle, a team official confirmed Thursday.

Russell's surgery was no surprise. Team owner Al Davis mentioned its possibility last week during a press conference to introduce Tom Cable as the new head coach.

No one has ever mentioned McFadden needing arthroscopic surgery, and one high-ranking team official said he was unaware it even happened.

McFadden had it done Jan. 13 by a doctor of his own choosing -- instead of letting the Raiders' staff do it -- in Fayetteville, Ark., where he starred as a college running back for Arkansas. He is recovering fine and doesn't expect to miss any offseason workouts, a family member said.

(UPDATE: After the story broke, Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette tracked down McFadden at the University of Arkansas, where he is working out and spending most of his offseason.

McFadden told Murphy, "It went real good. It was just a scope. I'm already working out again."

The scope was performed by Dr. John Park, one of the college's team doctors. Thanks to Chris Cocoles, a fellow Fresno State alum, for passing this along).

He injured his shoulder in the second game of the season, the same Chiefs game that he got the first of two turf toes that severely hindered his rookie season. In fact, for all the coverage of his toe problems, the shoulder injury went mostly unnoticed as it lingered all year.

He finished with 499 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns but missed four starts and had 9 or fewer carries in eight of 13 games.

Players report for the voluntary offseason strength and conditioning program March 16.

** And for those who don't scroll down to the previous post, the Raiders have re-signed cornerback Chris Johnson to a four-year contract, his agent confirmed this morning. Dollar figures were not disclosed but one league source said he got "starter's money." We're looking into what exactly that adds up to.

** Not to bury this item, but the Raiders unveiled a logo to commemorate their upcoming 50th season, and they went out of their way to make it clear when the real Raiders were born.

According to a team release, the No. 50 in the middle is in the same style of the 1963 team's sleeve numbers. The 1960 and 2009 numbers in the logo use the same font as the 1963 team's helmet numerical decal.

By the way, did we mention Al Davis joined the franchise in 1963?

So this may be Year No. 50 on the calendar, but it's really just No. 47 in the Raiders' hearts.