The Oakland Raiders announced on Friday that they have signed running back William Stanback to a reserve/futures contract. He joins six other players who were signed to similar contracts this past week.
Stanback originally signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent out of UCF in 2017, although he wound up being released at the end of training camp.
He then joined the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League and has since played two seasons with the team, being named an All-Star this past year.
Stanback played 16 games his rookie season, carrying the ball 81 times for 539 yards while also catching 25 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns. He followed that up by playing 14 games in 2019, recording 170 carries for 1093 rushing yards and five touchdowns with 33 receptions for 329 yards.
The running back position is an interesting one for the Raiders as while Josh Jacobs will obviously be their workhorse going into 2020, who will be backing him up remains to be seen.
DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard served as Jacobs’ primary backups in 2019 but both are set to hit free agency and could receive solid paydays elsewhere. Washington, in particular, did a nice job the last couple of games as the Raiders’ starter while Jacobs was out, which likely earned him some money.
Stanback will have a chance to prove what he is capable of during offseason workouts and training camp, and if his CFL success translates to the NFL, he very well could compete for that backup running back spot.
