Oakland Raiders sign veteran cornerback Joselio Hanson – NFL News
After releasing their cornerback DeMarcus Van d**e, Oakland Raiders have made a change of guards at cornerback by adding former Philadelphia Eagles defenseman Joselio Hanson on Monday, September 03, 2012.
Hanson was astonishingly released by Eagles on Saturday after playing six seasons with them.
The new coaching regime currently heading Raiders was looking for a few substitutes at the cornerback position after a woeful performance in the 2011 season that saw the team giving away 251 yards per game on an average.
Head coach Dennis Allen believes Hanson’s experience will benefit the squad, particularly the young guns. Giving his views about Hanson after Monday’s practice session, Allen said:
"He's been a guy that's played a lot of years in the league in the slot and we just felt like it was a good thing to get another veteran guy in there with what really amounts to a young room. And so we thought that was something that helped us and upgraded
our team and made us better."
Hanson has been one of the best slot defenders in the league during the past few years. The 31-year-old will likely play nickel corner role in the Raiders’ pass defence.
Raiders did not disclose the salary that Hanson will get in his one-year contract. He was set to earn $825,000 in base salary this season from Eagles. This season would have been the last year of his two-year contract with Eagles.
In his time with Eagles, Hanson managed to get 239 tackles alongside 2.5 sacks. He also got four interceptions in that period.
Financial matters do not seem to be the reason behind Eagles’ decision to cut Hanson. In March this year, Hanson received $125,000 in terms of roster bonus.
It looks like rookie cornerback Brandon Boykin’s performance in the preseason was enough for Eagles to make the decision about Hanson.
Hanson is looking to adjust into the Raiders defensive system as soon as possible. He said:
"I feel like in the next couple of days I'll get it down. I went over the whole playbook already, so it's just now about all about studying and reiterating it to myself.”
Hanson has a good combination of speed and body size to be very effective in a defensive role.
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