Most Raiders Report, but Long Absent

Everyone was asking the same question at the Raiders’ training camp Saturday--Where’s Howie Long?

And team executives, coaches and players didn’t know why Long, the Raiders’ star defensive end, failed to report by the deadline of 5 p.m. Friday.

Coach Art Shell said he had no explanation.

“He’s under contract and he’s supposed to be in camp,” Shell said. “But for whatever reason, there seems to be a problem and it’s a problem between him and the organization.”

What’s the problem?

“That’s as far as I’m going to go with that,” said Shell, who added that he hadn’t spoken with Long.

Is it a contract dispute?

“Beyond what I said earlier I’m not going to go into that because I don’t know the details and I don’t want to speculate,” Shell said. “From my vantage point, the only thing I know about it is that he’s not here.”

Long signed a seven-year contract extension in 1988 under which the Raiders reportedly increased his salary from $700,000 to $1 million per year.

After being sidelined because of injuries for much of the 1988 season, Long returned to form in 1989, making the Pro Bowl for the sixth time in nine seasons.

Was Shell surprised that Long didn’t report?

“I was surprised because I expected everyone who’s under contract to be here,” Shell said. “And he didn’t show up.”

Shell said Long will be fined for every day he is absent from camp. The maximum fine allowable under NFL rules is $1,500 per day.

“We’re not into fining people, but at some point in time we may have to do it,” Shell said.

Long’s absence caught Raider players off guard.

“I fully expected to see him here,” nose guard Bob Golic said. “I don’t know what the story is. Either nobody knows or everybody is playing dumb.”

Would the Raiders miss Long if he is out for an extended period?

“You saw what he did last year,” Golic said. “He just dominated offenses and tore them apart.”

Defensive tackle Bill Pickel, Long’s roommate, said Long promised to pick him up at the Los Angeles Airport, but failed to show.

“One of the kids that works here met me and he told me there was a message from Howie to call him and I called him, but I couldn’t get in touch with him,” Pickel said. “I don’t know what’s up. It’s a mystery to me, too.”

Meanwhile, wide receiver Mike Alexander signed with the Raiders late Friday night and practiced Saturday. No terms were disclosed.

“I’m happy to get it done and ready to go to work,” Alexander said. “I didn’t want to be out for a long time because it disrupts the team. I didn’t want to cause a big fuss about petty things. The money will be made up if we go to the playoffs or the Super Bowl.”

Alexander caught 15 passes for 295 yards and one touchdown as a rookie last season.

The Raiders have eight holdouts who failed to report to training camp Friday: quarterback Steve Beuerlein, tailback Marcus Allen, fullback Steve Smith, tight end Mike Dyal, defensive end Greg Townsend, safety Vann McElroy, cornerback Mike Haynes and defensive end Anthony Smith, their No. 1 draft pick from Arizona.

“I have to deal with the people who are here,” Shell said. “I’m not going to let people who aren’t here detract from what we’re trying to do here.

“The show must still go on.”

Raider Notes

Tight end Rich Bartlewski suffered an injured right hamstring in practice Saturday. . . . The Raiders will practice only once today before resuming two-a-day workouts Monday.