Quarterback Matt Leinart will visit the Raiders this week. While one league source said Leinart is expected to sign, general manager Reggie McKenzie said it is only a tryout. If Leinart signed, the former Texans backup would be reunited with new Oakland offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, who was Houston’s quarterbacks coach last year.

Leinart’s arrival would mean the Raiders will have two Heisman Trophy winners at quarterback, as he would back up Carson Palmer, just like he did at the start of his college career at USC.

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie gave Terrelle Pryor a look at last week’s minicamp, to see if he was on track and could possibly handle No. 2 duties. He said that how well Pryor did would influence his decision on how quickly he needed to bring someone else in.

Leinart took over for injured Texans quarterback Matt Schaub last season, but he got nailed and broke his collarbone less than two quarters into his first start. Leinart, 29 in two weeks, has played six years (starting 18 games) and completed 350-of-608 (57.6 percent) passes for 3,950 yards, 15 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.

“He’s an experienced quarterback and we just want to take a closer look at him, watch him throw the ball and see how his injury has come around,” McKenzie said.

Turning to Leinart seems to indicate that McKenzie thinks Pryor would do well undergoing a full training camp before he is installed as a backup. Remember, Pryor didn’t have a training camp in his rookie season because he was a supplemental draft pick. And his mechanics and throwing motion could use a little more work.

Leinart may not be an exciting choice as as a backup quarterback but he makes sense given the Raiders’ lack of salary-cap room and his ties to Knapp and Palmer. And the Raiders are taking the long-term view, so if Palmer did get hurt, there won’t be any desperate trades for a starting quarterback like there was last season. (Is Leinart better than Kyle Boller? I guess so.)