Colt Brennan Thrust Into Crash Course on Raiders Offense for Opener

Newly signed quarterback Colt Brennan has spent the last couple of days learning as much of the Raiders' playbook as possible ahead of Thursday night's exhibition opener at Dallas.

Brennan, a record-setting quarterback at Hawaii, was signed by the Raiders after being released last week by the Washington Redskins. Oakland is thin at quarterback with injuries to Bruce Gradkowski (groin strain) and Charlie Frye (wrist) preventing them from practicing. So, Brennan is likely to see action, possibly quite a bit of it against the Cowboys.

The last thing the Raiders want to do is expose starter Jason Campbell and Kyle Boller -- who is competing for a backup job -- to unnecessary risk by playing them longer than planned against the Cowboys.

That's why the Raiders are trying to bring Brennan quickly up to speed on their offense. He spent much of the weekend going over the playbook with Ted Tollner, the Raiders passing game coordinator under offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, according to Jerry McDonald of the Contra Costa Times.

If Brennan manages to perform well in practice and the game, he may be thrown into the competitive mix for a reserve quarterback role during the remainder of training camp, though for now the focus is on getting the suddenly quarterback-thin Raiders through their exhibition opener.

"Right now, basically I'm just trying to get somewhat of a game plan for Thursday night just so I can be ready," Brennan told McDonald. "I can at least look like I know what I'm doing out there and have a chance to move the ball and have some success with that third team."

Brennan, who threw an NCAA record 58 touchdowns in a season while at Hawaii, was the Redskins' sixth-round pick in 2008. He earned a spot on the roster with a strong preseason, leading NFL rookies with the most touchdown passes, yards passing and quarterback rating at the end of the 2008 exhibition season. He spent last season on injured reserve after suffering a hip injury as well as a torn hamstring.

Soon after acquiring John Beck in a trade with Baltimore, the Redskins last week released Brennan. He was contacted by the Raiders on Friday and signed with them on Saturday after completing a workout.