The Oakland Raiders receiving corps got a little deeper Sunday, as wide receiver Rod Streater participated in his first practice of Training Camp 2015 after being placed on the Non-Football Illness list July 31.
Streater joked about returning to practice on arguably the hottest day of training camp, but overall, he was happy to be back on the field with his teammates.
"It felt good," Streater said. "It sure was the hottest day to come back though, but it felt good to be back out there with the team."
While he didn't divulge his diagnosis, Streater did acknowledge that he didn't think that the illness would have kept him sidelined for as long as it did.
"I was working with the doctors for a while, trying to figure out what was going on and as time went on, I felt better," Streater said. "The coaches worked me out and got me through the conditioning test and decided I looked good and [got] me back out there."
With Streater's return, a revamped Raiders receiving corps, featuring rookie Amari Cooper as well as Michael Crabtree, gets even deeper.
"He [Streater] looks good, looks fresh," said Head Coach Jack Del Rio. "He passed the conditioning test and got himself ready to go. So yeah, good to see him back out there."
Unlike previous seasons, Streater will not be asked to bear the brunt of the receiving duties, and being part of such a deep position group both excites and motivates the fourth-year player.
"It's exciting, man," Streater said. "It pushes me harder to come back and it's exciting to see them work hard in this offense and be successful. It's just a good group of receivers, like I said."
While it's unclear whether or not Streater will hit the field when the Raiders fly to Minnesota to take on the Vikings Saturday in their next preseason matchup, his mental preparation will not be in question.
"I was in there working hard with the quarterbacks, trying to learn the plays and not missing a step," Streater said. "Just learning the playbook however I can, and when I was out here, trying to get as many mental reps and things like that, so it wasn't like I missed a step. I got back out there, it was just the conditioning part and flow of the game that I have to get used to again."
After setting a career high with 888 receiving yards in 2013, Streater only appeared in three games last season after being sidelined by a foot injury.
Needless to say, Streater is anxious to return to game action, whenever that may be.
The practice field isn't a bad first step though.
"Oh man, it's been forever, right," Streater said. "I'm ready to go, though. I'm excited."
