PRO FOOTBALL FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : McCallum Vows to Bounce Back

A day after surgery to repair a ruptured artery and dislocated knee, running back Napoleon McCallum was in good spirits and talked on the phone with Coach Art Shell on Wednesday.

“I told him that I’m going to fine him for being late for meetings and he laughed,” Shell said. “He said, ‘Coach, I’m going to bounce back. I’ve been through tough times before.’ ”

Backup tight end Kevin Smith, who played fullback at UCLA and practiced in the backfield Wednesday, might replace McCallum on the roster. Smith was inactive for Monday’s game at San Francisco.

“That’s a move we’re looking at for now because he has been a fullback already in our system,” Shell said.

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Steve Smith could handle the job--if he were still with the Raiders, as he had hoped to be. In his career as a Raider, Smith started 84 of 103 games and rushed for 1,528 yards and seven touchdown in 394 carries. He also caught 113 passes for 1,049 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Instead, though, Smith will take the field Sunday in a Seattle uniform when the Seahawks play the Raiders.

Blame his departure on free agency and the salary cap, which have left many veteran players with huge salaries unhappy and many of them unemployed. Smith was supposed to earn $1.1 million for the 1994 season.

“Basically, the Raiders told me that they were going to try and trade me, but it didn’t work out the way I thought it should,” Smith said. “So, I ended up telling them that I wanted to be released while there still was some time for me to catch on with another team.”

For nearly a month after being released by the Raiders, Smith searched for a job but found no offers at the salary he was to be paid this season. Finally, on June 13, he agreed to be reunited with former Raider Coach Tom Flores and signed a three-year $1.45-million deal with the Seahawks.