The Las Vegas Raiders had a busy offseason in free agency, adding a number of veterans players to fill some positional needs on both sides of the ball.
Despite having one of the best young running backs in the league in Josh Jacobs, the Raiders still addressed the position by inking Jalen Richard to a two-year extension while also bringing in a trio of veterans in Rod Smith, Devontae Booker and Jeremy Hill, who has already been released.
They also drafted Lynn Bowden Jr. in the third round, and while he played both wide receiver and quarterback in college, the Raiders are expected to utilize him as a running back as well.
It appears the Raiders are not done adding to their running back room as Rob Demovsky of ESPN is reporting that they are also signing former Detroit Lions running back Theo Riddick to a one-year contract:
Former Lions RB Theo Riddick is signing 1-year deal with the Raiders, per a source.
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) August 23, 2020
The Lions originally drafted Riddick in the sixth round in 2013 out of Notre Dame and he has since developed into one of the better pass-catching running backs in the league.
Riddick doesn’t carry the ball very often, but in his career, he does have 285 receptions for 2,238 yards and 14 touchdowns. He missed the entire 2019 season due to a shoulder injury, but in 2018 he had 61 receptions for 384 yards to go along with 40 carries for 171 yards.
The role that Riddick would fill with the Raiders is similar to what Richard provides, which makes the signing a bit interesting. Given the circumstances of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic though, the Raiders can never have too much depth and that is what Riddick can provide them as well as another veteran in the locker room.
In addition to the running back position, the Raiders also added a linebacker in Kyle Emanuel, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network:
LB Kyle Emanuel is signing with the #Raiders after a year of retirement, source said. Handful of teams were interested, but felt he could win in Las Vegas.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 23, 2020
The previously retired Emanuel is a former fifth-round pick of the Los Angeles Chargers out of North Dakota State. In four NFL seasons, he has 147 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss and a sack.
Las Vegas did a lot to address the linebacker position this offseason with the additions of Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski. They also now have some depth with Emanuel on board.
The Raiders officially announced the signings on Sunday afternoon, waiving linebacker Bryce Hager and running back William Stanback.
