The Raiders went into the offseason knowing they had to improve at safety, and did just that by investing in former Eagles starter Nate Allen, whom they signed to a four-year deal.
But in his first game as a Raider Sunday in a 33-13 loss to Cincinnati, Allen suffered a potentially season-ending knee injury. Then, later in the game, veteran Charles Woodson was injured, dislocating his shoulder.
The secondary – already suspect because of its young, inexperienced cornerbacks – now goes into Game 2 of the 2015 season this Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens with a patchwork pair of safeties. The team reportedly will sign safety Taylor Mays Tuesday. Mays was among the final Raiders cuts just before the season, but now could find himself starting against the Ravens. Larry Asante, who played six games for Oakland in 2014 after previously playing for Tampa Bay and Indianapolis, is the likely starter for Woodson. Keenan Lambert also is available.
Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk wrote Tuesday that the Raiders may be on the lookout to bring in another veteran, aside from Mays. A safety tandem of Mays and Asante backing up a young conerback duo of DJ Hayden and TJ Carrie is a scary prospect for a defense that was shredded by the Bengals in the season opener.
The Raiders gave up 396 yards to Cincinnati and rank tied for 24th in total defense after one game. It’s not exactly the start the Raiders were looking for under new defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr.
Now that defense not only has to fix its problems from Game 1 -- it gave up big chunks of yards on the ground and through the air -- but it must replace a pair of veteran safeties.
As Bill Williamson of ESPN.com noted Tuesday, head coach Jack Del Rio took ownership of his team’s embarrassing play when meeting with reporters Monday. He acknowledged the problems and didn’t side step the issues.
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“Del Rio’s team is terrible right now,” wrote Williamson. “He knows it, he owns it and he plans to fix it.”
This Sunday, we’ll find out if he can.
