Raiders need to make a decision on whether to activate OLB Aaron Curry  (US Presswire)

Raiders coach Dennis Allen said Monday he has yet to decide whether to activate OLB Aaron Curry, but he'll have make a decision soon.

Before the Raiders hit the practice field Wednesday, the Raiders must either activate Curry, waive him or place him on injured reserve.

Curry was placed on the PUP list because of knee injuries in late August. After he returned to practice on Oct. 17, the Raiders had a 21-day window to decide his fate.

Allen said one issue is that the Raiders would have to make a roster move to open a spot for Curry.

"I still think, at the end of the day, there's still some question there exactly where he is physically," Allen said. "I'm not going to make that decision until I feel I have to. ... But we're getting closer to that point where we got to make a decision."

Spencer update: Starting cornerback Shawntae Spencer has missed the past six games with a sprained right foot, but he has made enough progress to test his injury on the field Tuesday.

"We're going to take him out tomorrow and run around on the practice field and see where he's at," Allen said.

Spencer said he's not sure how his foot will respond.

"We'll see, you know? I've worked hard to get back here and did everything that was asked," Spencer said. "So all we can do is see tomorrow."

No interest: Former Raiders CB Stanford Routt, who was waived by Oakland during the offseason then signed by Kansas City, was cut Monday by the Chiefs.

The Raiders need help at corner, and Allen was asked if the they have had any discussions about Routt.

"No," Allen said.

Comeback trail: Cornerback Ron Bartell, who suffered a broken shoulder blade in the opener and went on the new short-term IR, is eligible to play Sunday against Baltimore. Allen, though, said he won't make that decision until later in the week.

Bartell returned to practice last week.

"We have until Saturday to make that decision, so I'm going to put another good week of practice in, and if all goes well at practice and they deem me fit and ready to play, then I'll be ready to play," Bartell said.

"I made some good progress, but you know, missing seven weeks, just not being in game shape, it's tough to get back. But I definitely feel a lot better, a lot more confident. I've got another week to get prepared, and that's what I plan on doing."

Cover your eyes: Allen, a former defensive coordinator, said it was painful to watch tape of Bucs RB Doug Martin gashing his defense for 251 yards and four touchdown.

"Listen, it hurts. It hurts," Allen said. "But there are things that we've got to get corrected. At the end of the day, their guy made the play and we didn't. We got to learn from those mistakes and we got to be able to get it corrected."

According to Allen, Martin did his damage against a variety of defensive schemes.

"Yeah, it was different schemes that we had. It was an issue of when you have an opportunity, we've got to make the tackle when we get an opportunity," Allen said. "The guy's a good runner. They were running the ball good coming into the game, and they ran the ball good against us."

Extra points: Starting free safety Matt Giordano said he suffered a "strained" hamstring Sunday but expects to play at Baltimore. "I feel like I can come back from it," he said. "I expect myself to be back." ... Third-string RB Taiwan Jones played some cornerback in college, and Allen said he has thought of moving him to corner. "That thought has been in the back of my mind, but I don't think we're ready to make any kind of moves like that," Allen said.

Follow Raiders reporter Eric Gilmore on Twitter @CBSRaiders.