Raiders bolster experience with signing of CB Leon Hall
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Raiders were scheduled to enter their spring workout program with a fairly inexperienced roster.
Not anymore.
Cornerback Leon Hall, 33, signed a contract Thursday, the team announced. Of its five oldest players under contract, four were acquired in March. Hall, the second-oldest player on the roster, offers ample familiarity with new Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther.
He and Guenther overlapped with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2007 to 2015.
Right tackle Breno Giacomini (32 years old), wide receiver Jordy Nelson (32) and quarterback Josh Johnson (31) also were March additions. Left tackle Donald Penn, a holdover, will turn 35 in April. Safety Reggie Nelson, 34, reportedly agreed to terms last week. Once officially re-signed, he will surpass Hall as the Raiders’ oldest defender.
Hall spent 2016 with the New York Giants and 2017 with the San Francisco 49ers following his Cincinnati tenure. He’s started 108 of 142 career games with 518 tackles, 115 passes defensed and 27 interceptions.
Of those 108 starts, only six have come in the past three years. He is expected to compete for the Raiders’ nickel spot with Gareon Conley and Rashaan Melvin the projected starters on the outside. Melvin, Hall, cornerback Shareece Wright and safety Marcus Gilchrist all were signed in March.
The Raiders will begin their workout program on April 9.
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Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GehlkenNFL on Twitter.
