In a Q&A with Tim Tawakami of the Mercury News, Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen confirmed that running back Darren McFadden is healthy after his season was cut short in 2011 with a Lisfranc injury.
Allen was asked if McFadden will be going at full speed during the next mini-camp.
“There’s no crystal ball to see exactly where he’s going to be at during that point in time,” said Allen. ”What I can tell you is he participated fully in the voluntary mini-camp and we expect that he’ll participate fully in the OTAs and then the mandatory mini-camp.”
Allen was also asked if McFadden can carry the ball 25-30 times a game.
“Here’s what I would say–can he run the ball 25, 30 times? Absolutely. But I also think the running back position in this league, I think you have the ability to use different people,” said Allen. ”Because those runners take such a pounding on a play-in and play-out basis.”
“Does he have the ability to be the lead back? Absolutely and he will be.”
“But we’re going to have to find ways to spell him some, too.”
I really believe if the Raiders want to get the most out of McFadden, they’re going to have to limit his carries to 10-15 a game. He simply can’t stay healthy if they give him too many touches, and that’s a proven fact.
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