Heyward-Bey doing ‘fine' day after hit to head

ALAMEDA -- Receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey suffered a concussion in the scary-looking hit to the back of his head in Oakland's 27-21 victory at Minnesota on Sunday, Raiders coach Hue Jackson said Monday in his weekly media conference.But Heyward-Bey was also doing "fine" the day after and wearing a neck brace, according to Jackson."Obviously, we're still going to take precautions with him, but he's moving around, walking around, looking like Darrius (with a) neck brace on," Jackson said with a smile. "He's doing good. That was a tough shot that he took. But he's a tough young man. I'm sure as fast as he can get out there with his teammates, he will be."

Heyward-Bey was injured after hauling in a four-yard pass across the middle with 11 minutes to play in the fourth quarter when cornerback Cedric Griffin brought him down from behind and spun him around. E.J. Henderson closed in and caught Heyward-Bey with a knee to the back of the head, popping off the receiver's helmet.He held onto the ball but rolled over onto his back and his legs began moving on Mall of America Field's artificial turf. Medical personnel rushed onto the field immediately and he was strapped onto a stretcher with his head held in place. Heyward-Bey gave a brief thumbs-up as he was carted off the field.Heyward-Bey was then transported to nearby Hennepin County Medical Center for precautionary exams before being released in time to catch the Raiders' charter flight back to Oakland.Early Monday evening, Heyward-Bey Tweeted the following: "I want to say THANKS to all my Family, Friends, RaiderNation, and Fans. That sent out prayers for me."Said Jackson: "I think we're beyond the major part of it. Now, I think it's morelet's see how fast he heals and see exactly where he is. He had the neck, back issue and a concussion so we need to get him past those things. Obviously there's procedures when you're dealing with a concussion you have to go through. So I think he's at the normal stages of that and then I think it's more, let's see where this soreness exactly, where it's located in his body and go from there too."Heyward-Bey, who caught four passes Sunday for 43 yards, has been having a breakthrough campaign in this, his third NFL season. He is leading the Raiders with 31 catches for 477 yards (both are already single-season highs for him) and has one touchdown.Jackson was asked if he thought Heyward-Bey might play this weekend."Knowing our medical staff, there's a good chance because they're very good at what they do," Jackson said. "But if he doesn't I wouldnt be surprised by that (either). We're just going to take it day by day and see where it goes."