In what has been a somewhat strange season for Raiders wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, a return to normalcy was more than welcomed Friday.

The one-day scare he experienced after a tweaked hip kept him out of Thursday’s practice turned much more hopeful 24 hours later, as Renfrow joined his teammates for a midafternoon workout.

Renfrow is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Texans at Allegiant Stadium, but he sounded confident that he will be ready to play.

“They always error on the side of holding back for Sunday,” Renfrow said of the Raiders’ medical team. “So, yeah, excited.”

That isn’t the case for tight end Darren Waller, who missed his third straight practice Friday with a hamstring injury and won’t play.

Renfrow has missed two games with a concussion. He returned against the Chiefs on Oct. 10, but his four catches for 25 yards are proof he’s still working his way back into the mix while playing alongside Davante Adams, acquired in the offseason, and Waller.

The two weeks of missed time interrupted that process, but Renfrow tried to make the most of it.

“I’m still here learning; I’m still here watching,” he said. “You don’t necessarily have to be out there physically to take mental reps. I definitely think it hinders you when you’re not out there, but it’s not the worst thing ever.”

The fine line the Raiders walk in terms of Renfrow and Waller is their obvious importance to the team, plus the urgency created by the 1-4 record being weighed against the risk of rushing them back too soon. The last thing the Raiders need is the two aggravating their injuries and missing even more time.

“You have to be patient,” coach Josh McDaniels said.

A younger McDaniels might not have been as disciplined.

“Maybe 10, 15 years ago, I would have held my breath and stomped my feet,” McDaniels said.

But the older he’s gotten, the more McDaniels has learned to focus on the big picture.

“Getting frustrated about an injury, when they happen to every team around the league, serves no purpose,” he said.

Also, McDaniels and the Raiders are playing the long game. Even with their poor record, they believe they have the talent to make a push for the playoffs in the final 12 games.

For that to happen, they need their key players for the balance of the season. If that means being more prudent in the short term, so be it.

“I want them to get healthy; that’s the most important thing for our team,” McDaniels said. “And hopefully, long-term view, our best football is in November and December and hopefully beyond. That’s where the mindset is now.”

Because of their injuries, Renfrow and Waller — who both signed contract extensions in the offseason — haven’t played to their normal levels. Renfrow has 14 catches for 105 yards in three games, and Waller has 16 catches for 175 yards in five games.

“We know they’re really good players. That’s why we’ve extended both of them,” McDaniels said. “Excited to eventually have what we think is a pretty talented group out there that can continue to play and progress together.”

Renfrow is looking at the big picture, too.

“The beauty of the NFL season is it’s very long,” he said. “It’s not like college where they have four or five games left. We have time, and hopefully we can get on a little run.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at [email protected]. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.