49ERS Raiders hold camps

Teams' draft picks expected to partake in weekend sessions

(Friday, May 05, 2006)

If football in May can ever be exciting, it will be so today when 49ers and Raiders players report for mandatory three-day minicamps at their respective facilities.

The nine draft picks of the 49ers and the seven of the Raiders are expected to be in camp.

In Alameda, attention will be centered at quarterback, where Aaron Brooks and second-year player Andrew Walter will take snaps. Cornerback/safety Michael Huff, the Raiders' first-round choice, also will get a chance to roam the secondary.

In Santa Clara, several rookies will be shifting positions, including former Long Beach basketball forward Onye Ibekwe, who signed this week according to his agent.

Ibekwe, a 6-foot-5, 256-pound tight end, hasn't played football since he was a sophomore at Manual Arts High in Los Angeles. He then transferred to nearby Crenshaw to concentrate on basketball.

Support for Flutie: Tom Brady wants Doug Flutie to return for a second season as his backup. Like plenty of Patriots and Flutie fans, he's still waiting for the 43-year-old quarterback's decision.

Flutie is considering retirement after a career that includes a Heisman Trophy from Boston College, three pro football leagues and his status as a hometown icon who started in the Boston suburbs at Natick High School and could end in the town of Foxborough, Mass.

"I love Doug and Doug's just an awesome guy so I would love for him to be here," Brady said Thursday. "He adds an awful lot so I don't know how that's going to work out."

Flutie's agent, Kristin Kuliga, said Monday she thought Flutie's decision probably would be made this week.

Briefly: Running backs Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport and offensive tackle Chad Clifton will miss the Packers' minicamp this weekend as they continue to recover from injuries sustained last season. ... The Cowboys will spend their summers back in San Antonio from 2007-11. The Cowboys trained inside the Alamodome in 2002 and 2003, but a scheduling conflict the following year led to a return to Oxnard (Ventura County) through this summer.

E-mail Kevin Lynch at klynch@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page C - 7 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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