Schilens returns to practice for Raiders

ALAMEDA -- Darrius Heyward-Bey went up and grabbed a touchdown pass from Jason Campbell in one drill. Chaz Schilens caught a pass on the next. Sights that were too rare last season were much more frequent occurrences at Wednesday's organized team activity, giving hope that the Oakland Raiders might have an improved passing game this season. "I'm excited to be on this offense I'll tell you that," Schilens said Wednesday. "I think we're legit and we're taking steps forward every day, not backwards. Working on turnovers, working on big plays. The offense is great. I'm just looking forward to it, being out there, being part of the team." The Raiders passing game was one of the worst in the NFL last season, ranking 29th in net yards, last in touchdown passes and 29th in quarterback rating. Quarterback JaMarcus Russell received much of the blame and was released last month just three years after being the No. 1 overall draft pick. Campbell has provided a notable upgrade at quarterback, but the team will need better play at receiver. That rests heavily on Schilens and Heyward-Bey. Schilens made an early return from offseason surgery on his left foot this week. Coach Tom Cable originally had said Schilens would wait until training camp to get back on the field, but Schilens showed the training staff enough during last week's break from the offseason program to return to the practice field this week. Schilens missed the first eight games last season with the injury and was never completely healthy after his return. He had 29 catches for 365 yards and two touchdowns, but needed another operation after the season to help the foot fully heal. He said now he can start having fun. "It's been a while for me," he said. "I just wanted to get back out here as soon as possible and start working back into it. That was really it. I'm glad they let me come back out here. It feels good." Schilens showed some signs of rust and was still limited a bit in practice as the team does not want to take any chances with his health. There were no such restrictions on Heyward-Bey, who has been one of Oakland's most impressive players this offseason following a disappointing rookie season. The Raiders were criticized for drafting Heyward-Bey seventh overall ahead of more accomplished receivers such as Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin. Heyward-Bey's performance during the season only increased the criticism. He frequently dropped passes in practice and games, and finished the season with nine catches for 124 yards and a touchdown before missing the final five games with a foot injury. Heyward-Bey has spent plenty of time at the team's facility this offseason, getting in better shape and improving his hands. "Last year was a learning experience," he said. "I went out there and I played a lot, learned a lot, and then getting hurt at the end was something I never experienced through college or high school. So I just used it all as a learning experience. Going into this year, being a better pro, just being more in shape, taking care of my body and just doing what I've got to do to just play football here." Tempering some of the enthusiasm from the offense's success was the fact that starting cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Chris Johnson were not in attendance at the voluntary workout and third cornerback Stanford Routt sat out much of the practice with a sore back. While much of the success came against rookies like Walter McFadden and Jeremy Ware, it still was a vast improvement over how the passing game looked at this time a year ago. "I'm excited about that," Cable said. "I think the quarterbacks and the receivers are on the same page down there. So it's good to see that we're kind of spreading it around but being more explosive into the end zone, which we've talked a lot about." NOTES: The Raiders have signed three players this week: WR Damola Adeniji, OL Allen Smith and OL Elliot Vallejo. ... OL Langston Walker had surgery on his elbow and is expected back for the start of training camp. ... Among the other players missing the workout were LBs Sam Williams and Isaiah Ekejiuba and DL Tommy Kelly. ... DL Richard Seymour still has not signed his franchise tender and has not practiced with the team all offseason.