The Raiders yesterday announced the signing of six of the players with which they had agreed to contract terms over the negotiation window and free agency. Today, the Raiders have also announced the addition of safety Nate Allen to their roster, their seventh player of free agency to date.
The players the Raiders have signed as of publishing are:
Rodney Hudson, center, 25 years old:
The former Kansas City Chiefs center was already linked to the Raiders center for the last 3 season, Stefan Wisniewski ,as the two were both selected in the second round of the 2011 draft. Wisniewski was taken 48th overall and Hudson was taken 7 spots later, at 55th overall.
Like Wisniewski, Hudson started his NFL career at guard, starting in his first 19 games before sustaining an injury in week 3 of the 2012 that ended the season for him. In 2013 and 2014, he switched to center and has steadily improved his play at that position. Last year, PFF ranked him the third overall center in the NFL.
Unlike Wisniewski, Hudson has previous experience at center before the NFL. He played both guard and center in 53 games at Florida State, 50 of which he started.
Lee Smith, tight end, 27 years old:
Smith comes from Buffalo as a blocking specialist at the tight end position. In his introductory conference he said that he prides himself as being a “lunch-pail guy.”
Smith was taken by the Patriots in the 5th round of the 2011 Draft but didn’t stick on the team and after being cut at the start of the 2011 season, he landed in Buffalo where he has been since.
Smith has great size for the position, listed at 6’6” and 265 lbs. He was graded well as a blocker in 2014 by PFF for both pass and run blocking. In his career he has only 20 receptions for 144 yards and 3 TDs so it’s likely the Raiders signed him to be their inline tight end and will continue the trend of only using him as a receiver sparingly.
Dan Williams, nose tackle, 27 years old:
Williams is a former first round pick, taken 26th overall by the Cardinals in the 2010 Draft. Prior to signing with Oakland yesterday, he had spent his entire NFL career in Arizona. At 6’2” and 327 lbs, Williams has great size for the nose tackle position and at 27 years old, he is still young enough to have good energy at the center of the line.
Understandably, Williams was known as a more of a run stopper in Arizona but he expressed yesterday that he thinks he is underrated as a pass rusher saying, “I sometimes think that you can’t always justify how much pressure you get to the quarterback.”
In 2014, Williams played in all 16 games, starting 9, and set a career high for tackles with 45. Williams figures to rotate into a defensive line that also includes 2nd year nose tackle Justin “Jelly” Ellis and veteran Antonio Smith.
Malcolm Smith, linebacker, 25 years old:
The former Seahawk has the rare distinction of being a former Super Bowl MVP, having earned that honor in Super Bowl XLVIII when the Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos. In that game, Smith intercepted a Peyton Manning pass in the second quarter and returned it 69 yards for a TD to allow Seattle to pull ahead 22-0. Later in the game, Smith also recovered a ball that was fumbled by Denver WR Demaryius Thomas.
Coincidentally, he was the first defensive player to win the award since safety Dexter Jackson was named MVP in Super Bowl XXXVII, which was Jackson and the rest of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beating Rich Gannon and the Raiders in the conclusion of the 2002 season – the last winning season for the franchise.
Smith has been part of the Seattle linebacker corps since 2011, when he was drafted with the 242nd overall pick. He has played in 57 games with the Seahawks, starting 16 of those.
Roy Helu, running back, 26 years old:
Helu was drafted by Washington in 2011, taken in the fourth round of the 2011 draft (105th overall). In his time in Washington, he become known as a quality 3rd down back and, despite few opportunities to start, he left the franchise with 255 carries for 1,132 yards and 7 TDs (4.4 yards per carry) and he added 129 receptions for 1,152 yards and 3 receiving TDs.
Helu saw time in 48 games over the 4 years but started only 5. All five of those starts came in 2011, his rookie year.
Before attending college in Nebraska, Helu grew up in nearby Danville, CA. He acknowledged that the close proximity to his childhood home was a factor in wanting to come to Oakland to play saying, “It’s appealing, really, just to return to familiarity, and with my family being in close proximity, their support and their support of my family with my wife and our kids.”
Helu left Washington holding the team record for most receptions in a game, having pulled in 14 versus the 49ers in 2011.
Curtis Lofton, linebacker, 28 years old:
Lofton was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2008 Draft and earned a starting role on their defense in his rookie year. He played there for four years and was their annual leader in tackles during that time.
In 2012, Lofton was signed to a 5 year deal with the New Orleans Saints to be their starting middle linebacker. He continued to rack up high tackle statistics in his time with the team but the Saints defense trended downwards during his time and he was one of the lowest ranked linebackers in the NFL last year by PFF.
The Raiders will give him every opportunity to earn their starting middle linebacker spot and it remains to be seen if Lofton, only 28, was part of the problem in New Orleans or if a different group of players around him can help him regain his magic at linebacker.
Nate Allen, safety, 27 years old:
Allen was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2010 Draft and has played there his entire career. He has been in free agency once before, last year, but ended up signing back with the Eagles at that time on a one year deal.
Allen told the media, today, that the Raiders actually pursued him last year, too, but that they were not offering a long-term deal at that time and so he decided to go back to the team that he knew for a year versus changing locations with no multi-year contract option.
Allen has good size for the position, standing 6’1” and weighing at 207 lbs. He has had an up and down career in Philadelphia but was rated as the 28th safety in the NFL in 2014 by PFF, a respectable if not great ranking.
In Philadelphia, Allen was known to give up some big plays because he lacked some anticipation skills and wasn’t able to read and react to plays in time. In five NFL seasons, Allen has played in 74 games, missing no more than 3 in any given year, and he has started 69 of those games.
He has 10 interceptions in 5 years, 4 of which came in 2014. He also has 3 forced fumbles in that time.
Allen is likely to line up at free safety with veteran Charles Woodson lining up closer to the line of scrimmage. This arrangement worked well for Woodson last year to capitalize on his fantastic football instincts while limiting the 38 year old’s need to try to cover sideline to sideline.
More on the way?
The Raiders remain the favorites to land former Bengals TE Jermaine Gresham and he is reportedly still in Oakland on his visit and continues to negotiate with the team.
Gresham has great size for the position at 6’5” and 260 lbs but struggled with inconsistent play in his time in Cincinnati.
The former basketball player was a standout tight end at Oklahoma and parlayed his success there to being taken in the first round of the 2010 Draft, 21st overall.
Over the last five seasons in Cincinnati, Gresham has played in 74 games, starting 67 of them. He has been targeted 480 times in his career, coming down with 280 receptions, a 67.3% catch rate. His 280 receptions have gone for 2,722 yards and 24 TDs.
The Raiders also continue to be active in free agency and there are also reports, today, that they may be interested in former Chargers’ RB Ryan Mathews. Mathews had come to an agreement with the Philadelphia Eagles but may no longer be interested in signing there because the Eagles have, in the meantime, signed former Cowboys rusher DeMarco Murray.
As with much in Free agency, this situation is fluid. Follow me on Twitter @AsherMathews for updates and thoughts throughout the day.
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