It's quarterback decision time for Raiders coach Dennis Allen (w/video)

ALAMEDA - Coach Dennis Allen says he expects to know who will start at quarterback for the Oakland Raiders when the team returns to practice Monday.

A sore elbow for Matt Schaub and a strong finish to the preseason by rookie Derek Carr have injected some doubt into what had seemed to be a resolved issue as recently as four days ago.

Allen said unequivocally Monday that Schaub would start the opener at the New York Jets on Sept. 7 even as he was sitting out the week of practice with a sore throwing elbow.

But Allen was far from definitive on Friday, a day after Carr threw three touchdown passes and led the Raiders to the end zone on all four drives he played in the exhibition finale against Seattle.

“There’s a lot of things that go into a performance,” Allen said. “There’s a lot of things that factor into the decision-making process. But I will say that I was very pleased with what I saw out of Derek Carr last night.”

The Raiders did not expect Carr to challenge for the starting spot so soon after they drafted him in the second round out of Fresno State. That pick came less than two weeks after they acquired Schaub in a trade from Houston and immediately anointed him the starter.

But the debate could be moot if Schaub’s sore elbow doesn’t heal enough to allow him to practice this week. The injury has been lingering for much of training camp and Schaub told Allen last week it was bothering him. Schaub sat out practice all week, throwing only a little on the side with a trainer.

Schaub was excused from the team Friday to deal with a personal issue but Allen said he expected him back when the team resumed practice Monday.

NOTES

Allen said he expected K Sebastian Janikowski to be ready for the opener after sitting out with a sore quad.

TE David Ausberry is expected back at practice Monday following knee surgery .