Superstitious? Not Schroeder; He Picks No. 13

As his first official act, Jay Schroeder of the Raiders chose uniform number . . .

Thirteen?

“I’m not sure how good an idea that is,” Coach Mike Shanahan said.

But that’s what Schroeder did. The No. 10 he wore in Washington is already taken by Chris Bahr, and the No. 7 he once wore belongs to Steve Beuerlein.

“I’m not here to intrude on anyone,” Schroeder said. “I wore 13 when I was playing baseball. I don’t think it’s unlucky. I kind of like it.”

Raider Notes

The Raiders put Vann McElroy on injured reserve, meaning he must miss four weeks, and re-signed safety Russell Carter. Eddie Anderson will start at free safety Sunday. If anything happens to him, strong safety Stacey Toran will probably move over, with Zeph Lee moving to strong safety. The Raiders also re-signed tackle Steve Wright to be their eighth offensive lineman, and waived Norwood Vann, the former Ram bomb squadder.

Steve Beuerlein, on the Schroeder deal: “I can’t be disappointed. I can’t help but approach it the same way I did last week. I’m going to do the best job I can. If a decision is to be made, I’m going to make it as tough as I can on the coaches. I like it here. I believe I have a great future here. I’m a 23-year-old quarterback and I’ve got a lot of great days ahead of me.”

How quickly is Jay Schroeder picking up the system? “It’s hard to say after a day and a half,” said Coach Mike Shanahan. “He’s very intelligent. He picks things up very easily. My plan is not to have him come into the game in Houston. I’d like to bring him in when he’s more comfortable.”