Oakland QB Frye gets start against former team

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Raiders quarterback Charlie Frye has been cleared to play after sustaining a concussion against Denver last week and will start Sunday’s game against his former team, the Cleveland Browns.

Frye was injured after being hit by Denver linebacker Andra Davis in the fourth quarter of the Raiders’ 20-19 win over the Broncos. He was replaced by former top overall pick JaMarcus Russell, who directed a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes.

After undergoing a series of tests this week, Frye was cleared by team doctors and practiced without restrictions Wednesday. He showed no lingering symptoms from the concussion, encouraging news for the Raiders, who earlier in the day signed quarterback Jeff Otis to their practice squad.

“As of right now, Charlie Frye will be the starting quarterback,” coach Tom Cable said Wednesday. “I know that when I came out here they said Charlie’s passed everything and he’s good to go, so that’s what I can report to.”

Cable added that Bruce Gradkowski, who was starting ahead of Frye before tearing the medial collateral ligaments in both of his knees, might be able to return to practice later this week but is still doubtful to play against the Browns.

Frye said it took him a few days to recover from the hit by Davis, one of his former teammates in Cleveland.

“Monday and Tuesday I was bouncing back from it,” he said during a conference call with Browns’ media members. “The headaches have left and the fogginess is gone. I’m 100 percent.”

Ellis going strong with Raiders

Greg Ellis spent most of Wednesday afternoon indoors watching film while his teammates practiced for 21‚Ñ2 hours.

That’s become a regular pattern for the Oakland Raiders’ veteran defensive end, who underwent minor surgeries to his knee and shoulder in November.

“For me, now at this point in my career, that serves me better,” Ellis said. “For younger guys they probably have to get out there and get more reps. For me, it’s study the film, make sure I know what I’m supposed to do on blitzes and things like that but just study the film.”

Ellis hasn’t practiced over an entire week since the first month of the regular season yet still leads the Raiders with seven sacks. He had two in Oakland’s 20-19 win over Denver last Sunday, including a 7-yard sack of Kyle Orton on the Broncos’ final possession.

Ellis has also been a growing force in Oakland’s locker room, part of the reason the Raiders didn’t go into the tank after losing six of seven games earlier this season.

“One of the things we’re fortunate here is because of a guy like Greg and a guy like Richard Seymour,” Cable said. “It’s important that you have people like that. Go back and look at the history of this game, some teams have been young with the right amount of elder statesmen, if you will, or experience, however you want to call it. And there’s been other teams with older guys that really just jelled together and know how to do things right, take care of themselves on and off the field.”

Staying on the field has been the biggest issue for Ellis this season.

He had three sacks in the Raiders’ first four games before his troublesome left knee started giving him problems. Ellis underwent arthroscopic knee surgery during Oakland’s bye week and also had minor shoulder surgery at the same time.

He missed one game while recovering from the operations and returned with a sack against Cincinnati on Nov. 22