By 
The Oakland Raiders and 1st round draft pick Darrius Heyward-Bey have come to terms on his rookie contract. Not that that is necessarily news in and of itself, but considering how the Raiders and their previous early 1st round draft picks have taken their time agreeing to terms, it’s a positive development for Raider Nation. Heyward-Bey, who was largely ridiculed as not being worthy of such a high draft pick this past April, seems like a good kid who’s just ready to go out and work and put all the background noise behind him. He joined KLAC in Los Angeles late last week to talk about the deal getting done, how he’s excited to continue working with his quarterbacks and other playmakers on offense and how he looks to the veterans on the Raiders for guidance on how to get and stay in NFL-caliber shape:
On signing his rookie contract:
“Yeah, you know, the money – that’s the icing on the cake. But just being out here with my teammates not at camp, that’s all I can ask for.”
On the expectations for him to come in and be a big-play guy for the Raiders in year one of his career:
“Oh yeah, yeah. In college, I had a chance to make some big plays for the Terps. And I want to continue to do that here for the Raiders.”
On his comfort level with quarterback JaMarcus Russell and Jeff Garcia:
“Yeah, already in just a couple days of practice, I’m comfortable with those guys. It opens up the field when you got playmakers out there with you.”
On his workout regiment this offseason and preseason trying to get ready for life in the NFL:
“Just watching the pros, the vets and how they do it. You know, I’m coming in here and trying to get in the weight room as much as I can, the training room and taking care of myself. You know, just running. That’s what wide receivers do. It’s like a marathon. So as long as I can stay up with that, I think I can make it through the next 12 years.”
Comments