With their top two return men out with injuries, the Raiders made a move Tuesday to help solve that problem, signing Roscoe Parrish.
Profootballtalk.com initially reported late Monday night that the Raiders and Parrish had agreed to contract terms.
Parrish, who was waived Monday by the Chargers, played seven seasons with Buffalo before signing with San Diego as a free agent after the 2011 campaign. Parrish returned 135 punts for 1,622 yards and three touchdowns for the Bills, averaging 12.0 per return.
To make room on the team’s 75-man roster for Parrish, the Raiders waived/injured offensive tackle Zach Hurd, who had been sidelined since taking a blow to the head early in training camp.
A second-round draft pick out of Miami in 2005, Parrish also returned 29 kickoffs for 685 yards. He started 14 games at wide receiver and caught 134 passes for 1,502 yards and seven TDs.
Last year he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the second quarter of Buffalo’s 38-35 victory at home over the Raiders.
Wide receiver Jacoby Ford is listed No. 1 on the Raiders’ depth chart at both kick and punt returner, but he sprained his left foot against Arizona in the Raiders’ second preseason game and hasn’t practiced since then. He had been in a walking boot until Monday.
Wide receiver Denarius Moore, who returned punts last year, is sidelined by a hamstring injury and hasn’t appeared in a preseason game.
In the Raiders third preseason game Saturday against Detroit, running back Taiwan Jones was the top kick returner, while cornerback Bryan McCann returned punts.
The Raiders have generated few, if any, long kickoff or punt returns. They’re averaging 4.4 yards per punt return and 14.2 yards per kickoff return.
Parrish will likely make his Raiders debut Thursday night at Seattle in their exhibition finale.
Follow Raiders reporter Eric Gilmore on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLOAK.
