The Oakland Raiders are one of the most storied franchises in the NFL. Although the last decade has spelled trouble for the team, there were still many memories made along the way.
Starting with the 2000 NFL Draft, two Raiders cornerstone players etched their way into the history of the Silver and Black. Kicker Sebastian Janikowski and punter Shane Lechler spent most of their careers with the Raiders and climbed their way to the top of the franchise record books.
Both players officially retired at the end of the 2018 season. Janikowski expressed his love for his special teams mate and discussed a potential retirement meeting with Lechler, via Jerry MacDonald of The Mercury News:
“We haven’t done it yet, but I’m sure it will happen soon,” Janikowski said. “I think it’s perfect that we went out together.”
The pair became good friends after spending over a decade together in Oakland and have maintained that friendship throughout their professional years and plan on continuing that during their golden years.
The Raiders did not re-sign Lechler at the conclusion of the 2012 season. He ended up playing out the remainder of his career with his hometown Houston Texans. He did not play last season, although received calls from a few teams throughout the year.
Janikowski did not play in the 2017 season due to injury and eventually signed a one year deal with the Seattle Seahawks. He eventually decided to hang it up after the back injury that hampered him in 2017 never fully healed.
Both Janikowski and Lechler are Raiders franchise leaders for their respective positions. Janikowski finished his time with the Silver and Black with 414 made field goals and Lechler with 48,000 punting yards.
