Raiders' Walker now a changed man

NAPA — Two weeks ago, Raiders wide receiver Javon Walker contemplated retiring from the NFL after only six seasons, at the age of 29. Just like that, he was prepared to give back the $11 million signing bonus he received in March. Raiders managing general partner Al Davis, among others, persuaded Walker to stick it out awhile longer. Today, Walker is a changed man. He is light on his feet, joking with fans and media, practicing at break-neck speed and relishing the prospect of another season. "If you can make it through the training camp, the hard part is done," Walker said after Wednesday's morning practice. "So it's kind of like, why make it through training camp and stop now? You made it through the hard part; the fun part is about to start. I'm looking forward to that and, hopefully, being a part of the turnaround that we can have this year." Few question Walker's ability. Twice during his NFL career, he has surpassed 1,000 yards receiving. It's his penchant to lose interest in his employer and a series of off-field incidents the past two years that keeps Raiders coach Lane Kiffin on high alert. Walker forced his way out of Green Bay after four seasons. Two years later, he wore out his welcome with the Denver Broncos and was released in February. During his stint with the Broncos, Walker witnessed the shooting death of teammate Darrent Williams. In June, he said he was beaten and robbed on a street in Las Vegas; two men since have been arrested in connection with the case. Hence, Kiffin said, he intends to monitor Walker's mental state throughout training camp to assess whether he is committed to making the Raiders a better team and not just sticking around for the wrong reasons. "I've been very critical of Javon throughout this camp and throughout the offseason," Kiffin said Wednesday, "but he's had a string right here of the best practices he's had. He looks to be in the right frame of mind lately. So, if we can continue to work on that and push that, it's going in a positive direction." Kiffin isn't blowing smoke in Walker's silver-and-black ear hole, either. He listed Walker as the unquestioned starter, with incumbent starter Ronald Curry forced to compete against first-year Raider Drew Carter for the No. 2 spot. "I'm finally putting everything together as far as what they want and how they want it to be done," Walker said. "Now I can start adding my twist to it and going out and playing football." Kiffin singled out Walker each of the past two days for his performance during practice. This is in stark contrast to the jabs Kiffin threw at Walker during the offseason about his weight and conditioning. Kiffin's message apparently got through. Walker's weight has dipped to a career-low 206 pounds, and he proclaimed himself fit and ready for a big season. In the past, Walker played at 220 pounds or so. When asked if he still harbored any doubt about playing this season, Walker said: "No, no, no." Quite the contrary. Walker said the end of the Napa portion of training camp Wednesday signaled a milestone, of sorts, and inched him closer to playing games that count. "I'm just looking forward to these games and getting out there and doing it," Walker said. "It's kind of like Mr. Davis said, he wanted me on his side because I had a lot of success against the Raiders every time playing (them). So, I'm just happy to be on this side and do it against somebody else."