The Oakland Raiders announced on Friday that they have signed former Atlanta Falcons safety Jordan Richards to an undisclosed contract.
Richards is a former second-round draft pick of the New England Patriots in 2015 out of Stanford. After playing three seasons with the Patriots, he joined the Falcons in 2018 and played in 15 games (12 starts).
In 56 career games (19 starts), Richards has six passes defended, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and 81 total tackles. In addition to playing safety, Richards has also excelled on special teams in his career.
Richards is just the latest addition to a Raiders defense that has undergone a complete overhaul so far this offseason.
They have also added safety Lamarcus Joyner, cornerback Nevin Lawson and linebackers Vontaze Burfict and Brandon Marshall to the mix. They will also likely emphasize the defensive side of the ball with their three first-round picks in the upcoming draft.
Joyner and Karl Joseph are expected to be the team’s starting safeties, but Richards will provide solid depth at the position, which the Raiders greatly lacked as a whole the last couple of seasons.