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ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The most talked-about pinky finger in Oakland Raiders' history was protected by a glove during practice Wednesday. It appears Derek Carr will wear a glove on his right hand against the Buffalo Bills, as he did for most of the second half of the previous week's 35-32 comeback win over the Carolina Panthers.
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Carr wore the glove during practice Wednesday and Jack Del Rio even wore one in solidarity.
Always pleasant and polite, Carr good-naturedly dodged direct questions about the damaged digit.
Asked how the finger felt, Carr said: "It's great, thank you for asking."
Asked if he'd altered his grip of throwing motion, Carr said: "It's doing great, thank you. How's yours?"
Asked about taking snaps under center Carr said: "No limitations. It's doing great. Thank you."
Told that his hand has its own Twitter account, Carr said: "I did not see that, but that's awesome. Sweet. That's great."
You get the picture.
Actually, Carr did not take any snaps from center during the media window. After the injury against the Panthers, Carr played the rest of the game in the shotgun formation -- even when kneeling on the ball at game's end.
Del Rio, of course, was no more forthcoming when asked how Carr threw the ball.
"Looked pretty good," Del Rio said.
Carr was listed as a full participant following practice, so it's assured he'll play.
Considering the way Carr threw the ball after he was injured, the Raiders don't appear to have much cause for concern.
Carr had one of his biggest early wins as a rookie in Week 16 against Buffalo at the Coliseum, with the Raiders winning 26-24 and knocking the Bills from the playoff race.
The Bills are the only team in the NFL to have failed to make the playoffs for a longer period than the Raiders. The Bills' last postseason game was following the 1999 season, ending in the Music City Miracle in Tennessee.
The Raiders haven't made the playoffs since 2002, when they won the AFC championship and lost to Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl.
Earlier in his rookie season, Carr made his NFL debut in New Jersey against the Jets with Rex Ryan as head coach. Carr completed 20 of 32 passes for 151 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
"I won't look back at it," Carr said. "I'm sure he may throw something like that just to be funny, we'll see. He definitely brought it all at me, and rightly so.
"They ended up beating us that day, but I know he doesn't care too much about the Jets any more and I don't care too much about that game any more."
The master of deflection, Carr deflected talk of his budding MVP candidacy to promote defensive end Khalil Mack for defensive player of the year.
"Talk all about him," Carr said. "You don't have to talk about me but one time. I'm good with that," Carr said. "I'm good with doing my job and going home to my kids and my wife. He doesn't have a wife yet, so give him all the praise."
Asked one more time if he plans on wearing the protective glove Sunday, Carr said: "We'll see. You know, my hand's doing great. Thanks for asking."
SERIES HISTORY: 38th meeting, Raiders lead all-time 20-17. The Raiders won the last game in Oakland 26-24, improving to 3-12, and knocked the Bills from playoff race. Derek Carr completed 17 of 34 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns, three yards to James Jones and one yard to Jamize Olawale. The Bills have not won in Oakland since 1966, when their quarterback was Jack Kemp and the Raiders' quarterback was Tom Flores.
--Tight end Clive Walford had three important catches, including a 12-yard touchdown reception that led to the game-tying two-point conversion, against Carolina. It was his most significant contribution of the season and his first touchdown since Week 2.
"It shows that Derek still has belief in me and has a lot of faith in me," Walford said. "I'm just grateful that I can be there for him to make a play like that."
Walford had his off-season slowed by an ATV accident that gave him a laceration in his knee, and also missed a game this season because of a knee issue. With 26 receptions for 270 yards, Walford is the Raiders' fourth-leading receiver.
At 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, Walford is athletic enough to provide a medium-deep option which helps open up the outside for Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree.
"Clive's gaining confidence, Derek's gaining confidence in him," coach Jack Del Rio said. "I think you see the number of people Derek uses. He builds that confidence during the week in the way they practice. Guys recognize that. They run a little harder to get open, protect him during the week.
"I think it leads to more opportunities in the ballgame for them. I think they understand that."
--Raiders coach Jack Del Rio and Buffalo's Rex Ryan worked on the same staff from 1999-2001 with the Baltimore Ravens, winning a Super Bowl championship following the 2000 season.
Del Rio said he and Ryan used to have draft contests in which he was the winner. Ryan, in a conference call with Bay Area media, thinks Del Rio is mistaken.
"I can tell you this, Jack is not a good liar," Ryan said. "But Jack will get over it. His memory, it's not as good, I think. He played in the league a long time. We'd have some fun, I would promise you that."
Del Rio laughed when told of Ryan's response.
"That might be true," Del Rio said. "Then again, it might not be. He's a pretty good personnel guy. We both took pride in it, it was fun for us and we would get fired up for the draft. We'd have our notes and be going back and forth. It was a good time."
--Local officials are putting together the framework of a $1.3- billion stadium deal in attempt to keep the Raiders in Oakland.
Raiders owner Mark Davis is on record as wanting to move to Las Vegas, which would include $750 million in public money, which has already been approved by the state legislature.
The Oakland plan, headed by former 49ers and Raiders safety Ronnie Lott, would include the leasing of 120 acres at the Coliseum site to Lott's group and set aside 90 acres for a new stadium and parking.
The Raiders had no comment.
--Defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. injured his hip on Aug. 12 in what was originally considered a six-week injury. To be safe, the Raiders placed him on injured reserve with the notion of bringing him back eight games into the season.
Through 11 games, Edwards still hasn't been cleared to practice. Coach Jack Del Rio said he still expects Edwards to play this season.
"Yeah, I do," Del Rio said. "But until he gets cleared, we're in a wait and see situation."
BY THE NUMBERS: 12 -- The number of accepted penalties against Raiders cornerback DJ Hayden, the most on the team with the most penalties in the NFL with 105. Despite the penalties, Hayden is having his best season with the Raiders.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It comes down to winning football games and we're stacking up wins right now and we need to continue that going forward," -- Raiders coach Jack Del Rio.
NOTES: CB DJ Hayden (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday and he might not be available to face Buffalo. ... DT Darius Latham (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday and is not expected to be available against the Bills. ... DT Stacy McGee (ankle) did not practice and his availability for Buffalo is not known. ... CB David Amerson (knee) sat out the Carolina game and even though he was limited in practice he might face Buffalo. ... LB Perry Riley Jr. (hamstring), who sat out the Carolina game, was limited in practice and might face Buffalo. ... LB Shilique Calhoun remains out of practice after having a minor knee procedure and is not expected to face Buffalo.
