Drafted fourth in the draft by the Oakland Raiders in 1998 after defeating Peyton Manning for the Heisman Trophy, Charles Woodson was a cornerstone of the franchise’s success from 2000-2002 before the loss in Super Bowl XXXVII sent the Raiders on a ten year streak without a winning record.
Now, he has returned to help the team remember how to win and close his career in the place it started.
Woodson, a certain Hall of Famer, was released by the Green Bay Packers earlier this offseason as the team grew concerned about his age and the collarbone that has been broken twice in the last three years.
The signing of the one-year deal with the Raiders came after Woodson was greeted by more than 100 fans upon arrival in the city. While the aging defensive back had an offer from the Broncos and a desire to win a second Super Bowl ring, the lure of returning to Oakland proved too much.
This move is the latest in a busy offseason for the Raiders that has largely been focused on shedding excessive contracts to free up cap space for future years. While most analysts feel that the Raiders will once again be among the worst teams in the NFL, most of the moves the team has made this offseason have made sense, a significant departure from the Al Davis years.
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