"The huge payday Michael Bush anticipated twice within the past four-plus years never materialized. But finally it's coming, one way or the other.

How much Bush receives from the Raiders or another NFL team remains to be seen. Yet, everyone agrees that the amount is going up with each game, as Bush asserts himself as a legitimate starting running back.

"There's no question, when he's healthy he can be an every-down back," said Dave Razzano, an NFL scout for more than two decades. "If he ends on a real high note, there could be a pretty good market for him because most people had him rated pretty good coming out (of college)."

Bush is slated to start Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings in place of injured regular Darren McFadden for the third straight game.

Bush was projected as a top-10 pick entering his senior season at Louisville. He suffered a broken right leg in the season opener, an injury that necessitated two surgeries and a titanium rod inserted into his leg.

Naturally, that scared off teams from using a high pick on him in the 2007 draft. The Raiders selected Bush with the first pick of the fourth round, resulting in their paying Bush a fraction of what he would have received as a first-rounder."