Raider Camp : Top Two Rookies Still Have Not Checked In

OXNARD —  Raider rookie camp is two days from being over, with neither the No. 1 nor No. 2 pick having set foot in it.

The John Clay negotiations are being conducted under a virtual news blackout. The Raiders have had no comment and neither of Clay’s agents, Norby Walters and Lloyd Bloom, has returned phone calls.

Clay and the Raiders were reported close to terms two weeks ago on a five-year contract worth $1.45 million. Since then, however, Reggie Rogers, the seventh pick in the draft, signed for $1.7 million. Clay was the 12th pick, and there is speculation that he may now be asking for more.

Negotiations with the Raiders’ No. 2 pick, Tennessee guard-tackle Bruce Wilkerson, have been more public, but futile. A source says the sides are $100,000-$200,000 apart on a four-year contract, with the Raiders offering about $1 million.

Wilkerson’s agents, Neal Allen and Douglas Brenner, attended Sunday’s scrimmage with the Cowboy rookies. “We did talk to a number of Raider coaches,” Brenner said. “They said, ‘Where the hell is your client?’ ”

Said Allen: “They’re where they are and we’re where we are. Right now we’re perceived as offering the Raiders a challenge. Normally I like to keep business business and personal things personal.”

“We’re waiting to hear from them in the next day or so. If not, Bruce is going back to Atlanta and then it will take longer.”

The Raider veterans report Thursday, with three offensive linemen--Don Mosebar, Bruce Davis and Shelby Jordan, all starters--unsigned.

Also out of rookie camp are Brad Cochran, last year’s No. 3 pick who is having his back re-examined, and Curt Marsh, the veteran guard who came in early, hurt an ankle and went back to El Segundo to have it checked.

The Raiders aren’t sure where Cochran is.

“We don’t have a timetable on it but at some point very soon, we’ve got to find out where he stands,” Raider Coach Tom Flores said. “At some point, we’ve got to make some decisions, ourselves.”

Raider Notes

Today’s scrimmage is closed to the public. . . . Former Cowboy Duane Thomas, now working on a book, was in camp and exchanged greetings with Jim Plunkett, who began his pro career with the New England Patriots. “I just said hello to him and that’s the most I’ve ever spoken to him,” Plunkett said, laughing. “And he was with the Patriots for a while.”