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Daunte Culpepper will be the starting quarterback for the Oakland Raiders for Friday night's preseason game against St. Louis.
Culpepper, who signed with the Oakland Raiders as a free agent on July 31 after being released by Miami in the offseason, has been taking the majority of reps with Oakland's starters in practice this week but coach Lane Kiffin didn't announce his plans until Wednesday.
"I know Daunte's excited about it, I could tell when I told him," Kiffin said. "He's very excited to get a shot so we'll see what happens."
Culpepper is the third quarterback to start for the Oakland Raiders this preseason. Josh McCown started against Arizona on Aug. 11, while Andrew Walter got the nod against San Francisco last Saturday. McCown will work in relief of Culpepper against the Rams, while Walter is No. 3 on the depth chart.
Kiffin hedged, however, when asked if he would name a starter for the regular season following the game with St. Louis.
"I don't know that," Kiffin said. "I'd like to. We'll evaluate this game and maybe we'll go into the next game and have to continue but I'd like to."
Culpepper, 30, has outplayed McCown and Walter throughout the preseason, completing 11 of 20 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. His quarterback rating of 113.1 far exceeds Walter's 71.2 and McCown's 66.0.
But Culpepper has had problems taking care of the ball. He fumbled twice against Arizona and twice more against San Francisco. Three of the fumbles came on snaps from center Jeremy Newberry.
"I'm looking for him to take care of the ball and move the offense," Kiffin said. "We want to score points. We don't want to give it up. He's been very good at that as far as throwing it. Now we've got to get the snap from center and make sure that that doesn't happen (again)."
Oakland's fourth quarterback, No. 1 overall pick Jamarcus Russell, has yet to sign a contract. Talks between the two sides have been ongoing but slow, though Kiffin said representatives from the Oakland Raiders met with Jamarcus Russell's agents in Los Angeles on Monday, the first in-person meeting between the two sides since training camp began.
"They're still knocking away at (a contract)," Kiffin said. "We're going to go with what we have right now. I've got to get this team ready to play and I've got to get this team ready to beat Detroit with who we have."
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CENTER SPOT UP FOR GRABS: The Oakland Raiders have their offensive line set except at center, where Jake Grove and Jeremy Newberry are vying for the job. Grove started in Oakland's first two preseason games while Newberry was a backup against Arizona before getting some reps in with the starters against San Francisco.
Grove will again start against St. Louis, with Newberry expected to replace him in the first half.
"They'll both play with the ones," Kiffin said. "It's kind of like the quarterback thing. It'd be good to figure this thing out after this game."
Grove has started 23 games at center for Oakland over the past two seasons. Newberry, a former Pro Bowl offensive lineman with San Francisco, signed a one-year contract with the Oakland Raiders in March.
Oakland's other starters are Barry Sims at left tackle, Robert Gallery at left guard, Cooper Carlisle at right guard and Cornell Green at right tackle.
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Michael Bush MAKING PROGRESS: Fourth-round draft pick Michael Bush ran pass patterns and caught balls thrown from Daunte Culpepper following Wednesday's practice. The rookie running back, who is still on the mend from a broken leg injury that sidelined him for most of his final year at Louisville, hasn't taken part in any team activities but is getting close.
"I feel I'm running better each day," Michael Bush said. "I just want to make sure I'm 110 percent before I jump into anything."
Michael Bush was placed on the physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp. If he is not removed from the list, he will have to sit out the first six games of the regular season. But Michael Bush doesn't expect to be put on injured reserve.
"There's no doubt in my mind, I'm not even close to thinking about IR," Michael Bush said. "I don't have any problems out of my leg. They're cranking it up on me. It feels good. Certain movements I make sometimes gets a little ache there but it goes away. It's going to be fine."
Michael Bush was projected to be a first-round pick, but after suffering a broken right leg in the second game of the 2006 season, the Louisville star saw his stock plummet. He had surgery to repair the injury and doctors inserted a steel rod in his leg for stability.
"Coach told me when he drafted me that they would like for me to play this year, but if I can't, they have other guys. My thing is, I want to be out there so I don't get lost in the shuffle."
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