PRO FOOTBALL : DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Loss of Peat Creates Problem at Center

Reserve offensive lineman Todd Peat has undergone surgery to repair a torn triceps in his left arm and will be out of action at least six weeks, Coach Art Shell said Wednesday.

Peat, a valuable backup at center and guard, suffered the tear during last weekend’s game against the Miami Dolphins in Tokyo. Shell said Peat severed old scar tissue in the muscle. Surgery was performed Tuesday in Los Angeles.

With starting center Don Mosebar still unsigned, Peat’s injury leaves the team short of centers. Reserve Dan Turk is filling Mosebar’s spot for now. Tackle James FitzPatrick, just returning from an injury, will also play at center.

FitzPatrick, at 6 feet 7 and 320 pounds, might redefine the position. “I’d venture to say he’s the biggest center in the league,” Shell said.

O’Brien Alston, once a starter with the Indianapolis Colts before suffering a serious knee injury, was released. The Raiders had signed the linebacker as a Plan B free agent in the off-season.

“He tried hard,” Shell said, “we just couldn’t see him in our plans for the future.”

The Raiders experimented with Alston at defensive end but determined that he was too small for the position. Shell said Alston was released before the Aug. 20 cutdown date to give him a chance to sign with another team.

Alston started four games with the Colts in 1989 before sustaining a knee injury that forced him to miss the entire 1990 season.

Holdout update: Bob Woolf, agent for unsigned defensive tackle Scott Davis, said the parties are moving closer to an agreement. “We’re not that far apart, really,” Woolf said. “We’re willing to move if they’re willing.” Woolf last spoke with Raider management Tuesday.

There was no word on the contract status of Mosebar.

Raider owner Al Davis flew to Ohio to attend the funeral of NFL owner and coach Paul Brown, who died Monday of pneumonia. Davis is due back in Oxnard today.