PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Special Teams Standout Patterson Signs

Cornerback Elvis Patterson, the Raiders’ best special teams player, signed a two-year contract Saturday. Financial terms weren’t released.

“I don’t think any player wants to be tied down no more than two or three years,” Patterson said. “Right now I’m getting up in age (31), but I’m like wine. I get better with time. I’m just happy to be back and be in the silver and black.”

The signing of Patterson leaves the Raiders with five unsigned players, including four starters--tailback Marcus Allen, linebacker Winston Moss, and cornerbacks Lionel Washington and Terry McDaniel. Wide receiver Tim Brown also is unsigned.

Defensive ends Greg Townsend and Scott Davis, who are under contract, failed to report to camp by Thursday’s 7 p.m. deadline. Townsend signed a contract extension last year and Davis signed a three-year deal after missing most of training camp last year. In the second year of a five-year deal, Townsend is due to earn $1.2 million. Davis is due to earn $700,000 this season.

Raider Coach Art Shell said he has no idea why Townsend and Davis have failed to report. “I haven’t heard a word from either one,” Shell said. “I don’t know why they’re not here, but we’re trying to get in contact with them. Most times guys give a reason why they’re not here.”

The Raiders traded wide receiver Paul Richardson, a rookie free agent from UCLA, to the Green Bay Packers for past considerations. Although Richardson looked good in training camp, the Raiders are stocked at wide receiver. “He’s a good kid who worked hard, but numbers probably would have gotten him,” Shell said. “It’s kind of tough to make this football team at wide receiver.”

Linebacker Alberto White, a 10th-round draft pick from Texas Southern, is trying to make an impression. White leveled running back Nick Bell and wide receiver Ron Brown during non-contact drills Friday and got into a fight with tackle Reggie McElroy during practice Saturday morning. Shell wants White to lower his intensity level so that he doesn’t injure a teammate. “You don’t want to take away his aggression, but the enemy is not in this camp,” Shell said.