Plunkett Comeback Is Stalled

Tom Flores, who had said he might try “a little different approach” with venerable quarterback Jim Plunkett, Sunday explained what that is: Plunkett is going on the physically unable to perform list.

What’s that mean? It isn’t the end, but if you’re a Plunkett fan, it’s not the best news you ever heard, either.

Plunkett will stay in camp, rehabilitate his surgically-repaired right rotator cuff but won’t be able to practice with the team. The move came after Plunkeet failed his pre-training camp physical. By Sept. 7, the Raiders must decide whether to activate him, put him on injured reserve or cut him. It depends on how quickly Plunkett’s right shoulder reponds and how well Rusty Hilger and the young quarterbacks play.

“It’s probably in reverse order,” said Plunkett Sunday night, laughing. “They’ll see how they are coming along and then they’ll see how my arm is.”

Plunkett hurt his shoulder in the Seattle Kingdome wipeout last Dec. 8, although it went unremarked upon at the time. It was thought to be a bruise for three months and Plunkett started the final two games of the season.

“It came on a sack,” Plunkett said. “It was the last play I was in for. I was scrambling. I tossed it to (Frank) Hawkins and then I was hit as I was falling forward. When I landed, I hit on my elbow with the Seattle player on top of me. That tore it.

“It really hurt initially. I told the doc (Raider orthopedist Bob Rosenfeld) that I’d hurt my shoulder. But a half hour later, it wasn’t so bad, But I really had trouble throwing those last two games, there’s no question about it.

“When it didn’t heal, I called Dr. Rosenfeld. I just told him he had to take another look at it, it’s no bruise.”

A partial tear of the rotator cuff was discovered. Plunkett underwent arthroscopic surgery at the end of March at Stanford and then began a difficult rehabilitation.

“About six weeks ago, I was so depressed,” Plunkett said. “I wasn’t getting anywhere. I could hardly throw and it hurt so much. Then I was thinking, ‘Maybe I’m not going to be able to come back.’

“Then within the last six weeks, things turned around dramatically. Although I still have the pain, the strength is there. Although it hurts at times, it’s not every time and it’s not always as bad as it was initially.

“I talked to Tom (Flores) a couple of weeks ago. I still want to play. I made that point clear to Tom. But in each of the last three years, I’ve been hurt one way or another.

“Over the years, Al (Davis) and Tom have been pretty fair to me. Hopefully, I’ve been fairly reasonable with them. Not that we haven’t had disagreements, but I don’t think they’d do anything underhanded. They’re trying to do what’s fair for everybody and protect themselves.

“They wanted to evaluate me and they also wanted me here. I think they want me here as insurance as well, in case something happens, or something doesn’t work out.

“It may be different for me but I can understand it, especially when I’ve been hurt the last three years. In Seattle, if I’d gone out one play sooner, it wouldn’t have happened. But that’s not the case. It did happen.

“I can understand it. They’re looking at their future, seeing what they want to do.

“I don’t have any recourse. I don’t think I’m going to another team. I’m too beat up, too many years in the league. This would be it. I would miss the hell out of it.

“What I’m going to do, I’m going to lift, run, throw, get as fine-tuned as I can without participating. Just get as prepared as I can for the eventuality of playing. Take a positive attitude and if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. It won’t be for lack of trying on my part.”

And in the first 1987 test of the young(er) Raider quarterbacks:

Ed Luther, a 30-year-old ex-Charger and Colt completed 9 of 12 passes for 195 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Raider rookies beat their Dallas Cowboy counterparts, three scores to two in a scrimmage Sunday at Thousand Oaks.

Luther threw a 20-yard scoring pass to tight end Gene Branton, a 70-yarder to Mark Pattison and a 33-yarder to Mervyn Fernandez.