Raiders' Ford on track with injury rehab RAIDERS

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It might not seem like much, but Raiders receiver Jacoby Ford put on cleats last week for the first time since August.

"I was extremely excited," Ford said. "Extremely."

Ford missed all of last season when a sprained foot turned out to be a much more serious Lisfranc injury and he needed surgery in September. The same injury caused the fourth-year receiver to miss eight games in 2011.

Ford is ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation and will "definitely" be back for training camp, he said.

"It's not quite 100 percent, but it's coming along really well," Ford said. "I am back to running routes and feel pretty good about my straight-ahead full speed. And I have been cutting on it.

"We just have so much time left that we're taking our time with it. There's no reason to rush it."

Ford injured the foot the first time Nov. 10, 2011, at San Diego and hurt it again in an Aug. 17 preseason game at Arizona.

Raiders receiver Jacoby Ford was hurt playing the Cardinals in August and missed the 2012 season. Raiders receiver Jacoby Ford was hurt playing the Cardinals in August and missed the 2012 season. Photo: Christian Petersen, Getty Images Photo: Christian Petersen, Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Raiders' Ford on track with injury rehab 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Ford had a rough time sitting out, especially since he enjoys going on Twitter to interact with fans, and some turned on him and questioned his toughness and why he wasn't playing.

"It's very frustrating to sit out a full season and take a whole season of criticism," Ford said. "But going through it definitely made me stronger and it made me hungrier.

"People were saying stuff, stuff that you don't really want to see. But it's gonna happen, so you have to learn to have thick skin. ... It's a pain sometimes, but Twitter is usually more positive than negative. The Raider Nation always shows a lot of love regardless. It's just a few people, but it's all good."

Ford has been a regular at the Raiders' facility this offseason, and goes to nearby Laney College with other receivers to catch passes from backup quarterback Terrelle Pryor. (Players can't do that at the facility this time of year, per the collective bargaining agreement.)

Ford, the team's fourth-round pick in 2010, had a very productive rookie year (470 yards, three receiving touchdowns, three kickoff return touchdowns), but has missed 24 of 32 games the past two seasons. He plans to stretch the field (17.0 yards-per-catch) again in 2013.

"I plan to do the whole nine yards this year, catch, return kickoffs and return punts," Ford said. "Do everything."

More cap space: The Raiders freed more than $5 million in cap room by restructuring the contract of starting strong safety Tyvon Branch on Thursday, the Oakland Tribune reported.

The Raiders reduced Branch's base salary from $6 million to $715,000 for 2013. In exchange, they tacked on two seasons to the four-year contract Branch signed last season. Oakland is more than $6 million under the cap.