After three seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, safety Roderic Teamer will not be coming back. According to a June 20 X post from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Teamer is signing with the New Orleans Saints.
Former Raiders safety Roderic Teamer is signing today with the Saints, per sources. Teamer, who is from New Orleans and played at Tulane, now returns home. pic.twitter.com/8DrWJXOtbY
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 20, 2024
The veteran safety played six games for the Raiders last season but was cut in November after being arrested for driving under the influence. He’ll now be reuniting with some former teammates in New Orleans, most notably quarterback Derek Carr.
Since Carr joined the Saints, several former Raiders have joined the team, including Johnathan Abram and Foster Moreau. Teamer has only started 11 games in his career and he’s more for a special teams ace. With the NFL instituting a new kickoff rule that is more advantageous for kick returners, there could be added importance of having top special teams players.
Teamer has always been a very good special teams player, which will help him make the regular season roster. He’s taken 539 special teams snaps in his career so he’ll provide a lot of experience in that aspect of the game.
Las Vegas Raiders Urged to Add CB
The Raiders have been surprisingly relaxed when it has come to adding cornerback help this offseason. It was considered one of the team’s biggest needs heading into the offseason but they haven’t added any notable names to the group.
Matt Holder of Bleacher Report believes that’s an issue and that the team still needs to upgrade their cornerback room.
“The Las Vegas Raiders have a major question mark at corner as Jack Jones projects to be the defense’s top player at the position,” Holder wrote in a June 20 column. “Jones finished last season strong but only has five NFL starts to his name, and the team’s other expected starter is Jakorian Bennett, who is also young and got benched as a rookie.
“With such an inexperienced group overall, the Raiders could use a veteran presence and upgrade in talent at cornerback heading into the fall.”
The Raiders clearly like what they’re seeing from their young cornerbacks but it would be a big risk not to add a bit more experience.
Which Veteran CB Could Las Vegas Raiders Target?
The Raiders haven’t practiced with pads on yet so once training camp begins, the team will have a better idea of how their cornerbacks are performing. Notable free agents like Stephon Gilmore, Xavien Howard and Adoree’ Jackson haven’t signed anywhere yet and could be waiting to see what things open up during training camp.
For that reason, there’s no rush for the Raiders to make a move. In a perfect world, the young cornerbacks step up and play well. The team has players like Jakorian Bennett and Decamerion Richardson under contract for multiple years. Having them develop would be preferable to adding a one-year rental like Gilmore.
That said, the AFC is loaded with so much great quarterback talent right now that not having strong cornerback play could be a death sentence. The Raiders should have an elite defensive line in 2024 so that makes life easier for the secondary but it’s hard to get after a quarterback if his wide receivers are always open.
