Raiders QB Derek Carr throwing again after dealing with finger issue

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Derek Carr is coming off his longest stretch of not throwing a football of his young life and is glad it is over.

Calling himself "more than 100 percent now," the Oakland Raiders' second-year quarterback threw extensively Tuesday for the first time in what he estimated to be "30-40" days.

Carr has been dealing with an injury to his ring finger on his throwing hand, and he and the team have declined to give details on the issue. Carr called the injury "so minor" and said all he needed to do was rehabilitate and stretch the finger while giving it rest.

Last week, Carr threw a couple of short tosses at the beginning of practice during the session that was open to the media. Two weeks ago, Carr was only handing the ball off while in front of the media.

Though he was rusty Tuesday on the first day of the team's mandatory three-day minicamp, Carr connected with the No. 4 overall pick, Alabama receiver Amari Cooper, several times, including a deep route in a two-minute drill late in practice.

Carr, a second-round pick in 2014, was the only rookie quarterback to start all 16 games last season. He said the time off from throwing was difficult, but he was reassured by coaches and teammates that resting in the spring has little to do with winning games once the regular season starts.

Oakland coach Jack Del Rio is also confident Carr's issue is a thing of the past.

"It was great to see Derek looking like nothing ever happened," Del Rio said. "It's good to have him back in the full rotation of things."