Terrelle Pryor, who hopes to earn a significant role with the Raiders, has reached out to Rich Gannon for help with improving his footwork. "He's going to give himself a chance to be a good player in this league, because of his work ethic," quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo said. "He's a gym rat here in this building. He loves being here, loves talking football, loves being around, playing the game ... He's getting better every day." Pryor doesn't believe critics who knock his throwing strength, but he is aware of weaknesses. "I think the biggest thing is to keep working on my feet and getting my footwork down because sometimes it's not consistent," Prior said. "When it's consistent, I make perfect throws. When it's not, sometimes it's not the best drive. So I just have to keep working on that and getting better at it."

Terrelle Pryor has big plans in regards to his role with the Raiders. The quarterback wants to be more than a backup. He is currently No. 3 behind starter Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. "Carson is the starter and he's going to be the starter. But I don't put myself as I'm going to be backup," Pryor told Bay Area News Group. "I mean, I don't sit around saying, 'I want to be a backup, that's what I want to be.' That's not how I operate. That's not how I want to be. I'm going to work to play. And Carson's always played well and always will. Whenever the opportunity comes for me to play, I'll play. But I'm not planning to be a backup. Get that correct."

Terrell Owens has told a San Francisco radio station that he wants to play for the 49ers or the Raiders. "Obviously with the draft that just occurred these guys are going to try to fill out what they have on their roster first. Go through the minicamps, the OTAs and see what they have in their barn already. I'm on the outside looking in," Owens said. In an interview that will air on KGMZ-FM in San Francisco on Monday, Owens also told Brandon Tierney & former 49ers cornerback Eric Davis that he has "parted ways" with former agent Drew Rosenhaus.

Darren McFadden is getting close to 100 percent after suffering a foot injury midway through the 2011 season. McFadden was among the NFL's leading rushers when he got hurt in Week 7. "I was hoping to get to 1,800 rushing yards, but it didn't work out that way," the running back said. "I will keep pushing for it this year and hopefully get to those goals."

Matt Leinart still wants to be a starting quarterback, but says he's with the Raiders to help Carson Palmer. "I knew I wasn't going into a place to be a starter," Leinart said on conference call. "This is a place I could do well." Leinart signed a one-year deal with the Raiders in April after spending the previous two seasons with the Texans, which cut him in March.

Owen Schmitt, formerly of the Seahawks and Eagles, is scheduled to work out with the Raiders this week.

Raiders running back Darren McFadden has yet to play a full season and missed the final nine games of the 2011 campaign. Oakland running back coach Kelly Skipper, however, recently said that the way he's playing now "you would never know he got hurt." McFadden suffered a Lisfranc injury in Week 7 and never returned. "The thing about Darren is he didn't have any major surgeries, so he's able to come back here healthy and he's playing at a high level right now and it's offseason," Skipper told the San Francisco Chronicle. "He's making cuts at full speed, everything. There's no problem with that."

Terrelle Pryor will begin the season third on Oakland's depth chart behind starting quarterback Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. Regardless of status, Pryor has a believer in his new position coach, so long as Pryor continues to show he wants it. "The first thing is, everybody knows how hard he's working," said the returning John DeFilippo, who was the Raiders quarterbacks coach in 2007 and 2008. "He's going to give himself a chance to be a good player in this league, because of his work ethic. He and I are in communication every day. He's a gym rat here in this building. He loves being here, loves talking football, loves being around, playing the game. He's getting better everyday. "The fact is, his strides he's made from his first day here in this offense to where he is now have been good. We've just got to keep doing that every day. We've got to keep moving him forward and he'll do that with his work ethic."

Plaxico Burress hasn't gotten much interest on the free agent market, but says he's open to playing for the Raiders. "I've always thought that Carson Palmer has been one of the best deep-ball throwers in all of football since I can remember," Burress told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Thursday. "They do have some great talent over there in Darrius Heyward-Bey and Louis Murphy. I think those guys are only going to get better with Carson." Burress accounted for 612 yards and eight touchdowns with the Jets last season.

Authorities say Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey has been charged with misdemeanor drunken driving after his arrest last month after a traffic stop on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, according to an ESPN.com report on Thursday.