Charles Woodson is 38 years old, but his stats the last two seasons as a safety for the Oakland Raiders belie that fact. The team wants him back for 2015.
If Charles Woodson wants to come back for his 18th NFL season in 2015, the Oakland Raiders would love to have the former Heisman Trophy and NFL Defensive Player of the Year winner.
Woodson, who just finished the second season of his second stint with the Raiders, will be an unrestricted free agent in March.
But general manager Reggie McKenzie says that if Woodson and the new coaching staff want, Woodson can be back in the secondary for the silver-and-black.
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“If he’s all in—100 percent—I want him back,” McKenzie told SiriusXM NFL Radio, per Comcast Sports Net Bay Area.
Woodson had a strong season in another lost year for the Raiders, making a career-high 113 tackles to go with four interceptions, eight passes defensed and a sack.
Woodson was a three-time All-Pro at cornerback, where he was the Defensive Player of the Year with the Green Bay Packers in 2009, and has been to eight Pro Bowls.
Woodson is 11th all-time with 60 career interceptions and is tied for second in NFL history with 11 interceptions returned for touchdowns with Darren Sharper, one behind Hall of Famer Rod Woodson.
His 13 non-offensive touchdowns are tied for fifth-most all-time.
Woodson is still the only collegiate player in history to win the Heisman Trophy despite not being a full-time offensive player. After capturing the award while at Michigan in 1997, Woodson was the fourth overall pick by the Raiders in the 1998 NFL Draft.
He left the Raiders after the 2005 season and spent seven years in Green Bay before returning to Oakland in 2013.
The Raiders hired Marcus Robertson on Wednesday to be the new defensive backs coach for head coach Jack Del Rio, a move strongly endorsed by Woodson, according to reports.
Oakland lost its first 10 games this season and the team fired coach Dennis Allen during its bye week in Week 5, turning the club over to interim coach Tony Sparano.
The Raiders rallied to win three of their final six games, but Sparano was bypassed for the permanent head coaching job in favor of Del Rio, the former Jacksonville Jaguars coach who most recently was defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos.
Oakland hasn’t been to the playoffs or finished with a winning record since reaching the Super Bowl following the 2002 season and Del Rio will be the Raiders’ ninth head coach in that span.
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