PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Folston, a Second-Round Pick, Signs

The Raiders signed another of their 1994 draft choices, James Folston of Northeast Louisiana.

Folston, a second-round pick who has played both at linebacker and in the defensive line, will be tried at outside linebacker.

The Raiders have three of their six draft choices signed. Still out are No. 1 pick Rob Fredrickson, a linebacker from Michigan State; third-round selection Calvin Jones, a running back from Nebraska, and fourth-round choice Austin Robbins, a defensive lineman from North Carolina.

Also signed was free agent Mike Alexander, a wide receiver originally picked by the team in the eighth round of the 1988 draft. Alexander has since played for the Buffalo Bills, the 49ers and the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.

*

The Raiders continue to talk to fullback Tom Rathman. The unrestricted free agent, who made $985,000 last season with the San Francisco 49ers, has been offered $600,000 a year for each of the next two seasons by the Raiders.

The highest the 49ers wanted to go to retain Rathman was $500,000 a season.

*

As always, the first week of camp has been designed for the rookies and newcomers. But it has been a little different this season. The sessions are shorter, and the agenda is geared toward the mind as much as the body.

With the veterans due in Friday, Coach Art Shell has used the first week for instruction rather than destruction. “We’ve gotten in a little bit more teaching time,� he said. “In the past, by the time we got to Friday, the guys were worn out. There has not been a whole lot of running and a whole lot of hitting this year. It’s been more teaching.�