Trent Edwards' road to Raiders a bumpy one

-- If Trent Edwards' family members wanted to see his first exhibition game of any of the past four seasons, they would have found their options to be limited.

There are no direct flights from San Francisco to Buffalo, and one all-too-convenient itinerary suggested on a travel website was to use three different airlines and visit both Charlotte and Detroit before landing in Buffalo. All that, for the cool rate of $673 a person.

Now, they can jump on Interstate 880 from their Los Gatos home. Forty-five minutes later, they'll be sitting in the Coliseum and watching Edwards in his new No. 5 Raiders jersey.

"The lockout and becoming a free agent kind of came at the same time, so I got asked a lot where I wanted to play and what team I wanted to play for," said Edwards, who played 3 1/2 seasons in Buffalo before being claimed off waivers by Jacksonville last season. "All I said is that I wanted to be back on the West Coast.

"I got what I wanted, and I'm in a good spot."

The home cooking is coming with some costly reservations for the 27-year-old. After earning a starting role for at least some portion of each of his first four seasons in the NFL, Edwards is in Oakland's training camp as a backup.

Maybe a backup. Right now, he's competing with Kyle Boller for the No. 2 job behind incumbent starter Jason Campbell.

"As far as playing time, there's not going to be much," Edwards said. "The backup-quarterback job is difficult. It's kind of a hurry-up-and-wait mentality."

Edwards is good at the waiting game. He's had to play it all too often.

A highly rated prospect from Los Gatos High, for which he led back-to-back teams to undefeated, Central Coast Section Division III titles, Edwards was recruited by Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame and Tennessee. He chose Stanford.

He started four games as a redshirt freshman, but missed much of the season because of shoulder and thigh injuries. The thigh bruise required three surgeries and five days in the intensive-care unit.

In 2004, he started nine games, but he missed two and was knocked out of two others because of injuries. He was at his best as a junior, when he started all 11 games and had a streak of 113 attempts without an interception. Even then, he missed parts of three games because of injuries.

Edwards started the first seven games of his senior season, but endured a season-ending broken foot against Arizona. He was winless in his final nine college starts, playing behind an offensive line that allowed him to be sacked 84 times during his career.

"Everyone has their stories and their bumps in the road," Edwards said. "I guess I was just raised to get back up if I get knocked down."

Shortly after Buffalo tabbed Edwards in the third round of the 2007 draft, Bill Walsh called Bills general manager Marv Levy to tout Edwards' ability. The quarterback got his first start in Week 4, completed 22 of 28 passes for 234 yards in Buffalo's victory over the Jets and would earn All-Rookie honors.

But more hits were coming.

In Week 5 of the 2008 season, Edwards got a concussion. In Week 13, he strained his groin.

Edwards' 2009 season was further plagued by inconsistency and injuries. Edwards was sacked 18 times in the first five games. He was accused of hesitating to make the deep throws and was saddled with the nickname "Captain Checkdown."

On Oct. 18 of that season, Edwards got his second professional concussion. When he returned three games later, he was lousy and got benched. He didn't play the rest of the season, save for a fourth-quarter mop-up appearance in Week 15, when he was carted off the field after injuring his right knee.

Edwards lost his starting position to Ryan Fitzpatrick for good after two games last season. Edwards was waived the following week by Buffalo. Jacksonville claimed Edwards as David Garrard's backup, and Edwards played two games with a quarterback rating of 40.3.

"I think you're judged on how you react to adversity," Edwards said. "I'm wired that way. I'm not going to lie down. As long as someone gives me an opportunity, I'm going to keep getting back and trying to prove myself.

"That's what keeps me going everyday."

That, and the thought of having a few more family and friends in the stands on game days.