PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Fifth-Round Pick Patterson Signed; to Become a Guard

The second of six Raider draft choices signed a contract Tuesday at Oxnard and took part in workouts.

Roosevelt Patterson, a 6-foot-3, 310-pounder from Alabama, joined previously signed Rob Holmberg on the second day of Raider camp. Terms were not disclosed.

Patterson, a fifth-round pick, has been an offensive tackle, but the Raiders plan to move him to guard.

“We like our tackles a little taller, 6-5 and above,” Coach Art Shell said. “But we feel (Patterson) has enough athletic ability to play.”

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The big fish has yet to be landed.

No. 1 draft choice Rob Fredrickson, a linebacker from Michigan State, sat out for the second day, but both sides say contract agreement is close.

With a league limit on rookie salaries, the Raiders can spend a total of $1.7 million on their first-year players.

The top choice usually gets 40-60% of that amount.

But Fredrickson and his agent, Bruce Allen, are trying to expand that limit through a multiyear deal with a signing bonus and contract guarantees.

Fredrickson has been an outside linebacker, but the Raiders plan to try him on the inside at middle linebacker. He will compete with second-year man Greg Biekert for the job previously held by Joe Kelly, who was cut in the off-season.

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A day after signing, defensive lineman Warren Powers suffered a dislocated a finger on his left hand. He might be sidelined for several weeks. . . . The Raiders signed R.J. Kors, a safety from Long Beach State. A 12th-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks in 1989, Kors also played with the Rams, the New York Jets and the Cincinnati Bengals.