With the start of the regular season less than three weeks away, the Raiders are still adding to their roster.
Oakland has reached a deal with veteran cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, according to a report by ESPN. Rodgers-Cromartie, 32, will give the Raiders depth and insurance at cornerback, where Gareon Conley – last year’s No. 1 pick – has had injury problems.
As Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com noted Thursday, Rodgers-Cromartie has been a durable player over his 10 NFL seasons playing for the Cardinals, Eagles, Broncos and Giants.
“(Rodgers-Cromartie) has played in fewer than 15 games just once in his career, when he appeared in 13 games for the Eagles in 2011,” wrote Gutierrez.
Rodgers-Cromartie joins a cornerback group that includes projected starters Conley and Rashaan Melvin, Daryl Worley, Leon Hall, Dexter McDonald, rookie Nick Nelson, Antonio Hamilton and Shareece Wright.
Rodgers-Cromartie is a tall, long corner at 6-foot-2 and 183 pounds and came into the league as a first-round pick of Arizona out of Tennessee State in 2008. He’s a two-time Pro Bowl pick (2015, 2009) with 30 career interceptions. He’s coming off four consecutive seasons as a starter for the New York Giants in which he had 11 interceptions. He was named second-team All-Pro in 2016.
In 2017, Rodgers-Cromartie slumped badly, however, losing his starting job and going without an interception for only the second season of his career. He was released by the Giants when he declined to take a pay cut and became a free agent.
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Rodgers-Cromartie is eager for his career to get a kick start with the Raiders. On Wednesday night, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeted that Rodgers-Cromartie texted him, confirming he’d joined the Raiders. Rodgers-Cromartie added: “It’s go time.”
The Raiders will play their third exhibition game Friday night in Oakland against the Green Bay Packers. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
