Raiders' Michael Bush is Ready to Play

Pity the defender who crosses paths with Raiders running back Michael Bush for the first time. Bush is a load at 6-foot-2 and 245 pounds, with a ball in his hands and the goal line in sight.

He's also ready to show what he can do after returning from leg surgery.

"I've been telling people that my season starts the first preseason game," Bush said Saturday, in reference to the Raiders' exhibition against the 49ers on Aug. 8.

Little has gone as expected for Bush the past two years. He last played in Louisville 's season opener against Kentucky in 2006. He suffered a broken right leg and missed the rest of the season.

The injury required a second operation just before the 2007 NFL draft. Bush fell from a projected first-round prospect to the fourth round. The Raiders, loaded with running backs, kept Bush out of practice for most of last season; he didn't play in any games.

There was no reason to risk another setback when veterans LaMont Jordan, Dominic Rhodes and Justin Fargas were on the roster. They wanted to bring him along slowly for this season.

A breakout season by Fargas coupled with the Raiders' selection of running back Darren McFadden with the fourth overall pick last month scuttled the plan.

"At first, I was like, why do we need another back?" Bush said Saturday during a news conference.

Bush decided to make the best of it.

"I just want to get on the field and just play," he said.

"Special teams, I'm all down for anything, just being on the field and getting the atmosphere. I'm just ready."

Bush now runs at full speed, makes sharp cuts, catches the ball in traffic and blends in seamlessly. But can he prove to be more valuable than Fargas and McFadden?

Fargas rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season and received a sizable new contract. McFadden is on the verge of receiving a contract worth at least $20 million guaranteed over five years.

None of that affects Coach Lane Kiffin's decision-making.

"We'll open the competition up," Kiffin said, "and who knows? Michael Bush may be the best of the three."

Running backs coach Tom Rathman added, "Our philosophy is, it doesn't matter what you've done in the past."

If you believe the coaches, Fargas' 1,009 yards rushing, McFadden's high-profile status, Jordan 's fall from grace - he probably will be cut before the season - and Bush's past struggles mean little.

"We have a standard here of the play that we want to present as a group of running backs, and we're going to hold everybody that suits up and steps out on that field to those standards," Rathman said. "When you're not able to get it done to those standards, we're going to go to the next guy. Somebody's going to perform for us, and it's going to be at a high level."

Fargas and McFadden are expected to split the bulk of the carries, with Fargas the primary ball carrier. Bush probably will play in short-yardage situations.

• The Raiders' three-day mini-camp ends today. Rookies such as McFadden won't be back until May 20. Veterans are expected in early next week for more off-season workouts.

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