NFL Free Agency: Raiders sign Reggie Nelson to two year deal
By Jason Parker
The Oakland Raiders reached a deal with free agent safety Reggie Nelson, who spent the last six seasons playing in Cincinnati.
Last season, the Oakland Raiders were one of the surprise teams in the NFL after a 7-9 finish that saw plenty of promise coming from their young stars. Some early projections have them fighting for a playoff spot in the 2016 season with a chance of being able to win the AFC West outright.
With new-found promise coming from the Bay Area, the Raiders are doing what it takes to get better and be in the playoff hunt. On the defensive side of the ball, Oakland went out and reached a deal with one of the top free agent safeties left on the market, Reggie Nelson:
The #Raiders signed S Reggie Nelson to a 2-year deal worth up to $12M, source said. #Bengals were still in the mix until late.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 7, 2016
Nelson comes to the Raiders after spending the last six seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. Nelson is coming off the best year of his nine-season NFL career, having eight interceptions in 2015 in helping to lead the Bengals to the AFC North title.
Overall for his career, Nelson has 30 career interceptions to go along with 648 tackles and six and a half sacks. He spent the first three years of his career as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars after being picked in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft following a college career with the Florida Gators.
Nelson’s addition will help a Raiders defense that was one of the worst against the pass last season, finishing 26th in the league as part of a total defense that ranked 22nd in the NFL.
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