Oakland Raiders add two players to their defense Friday

The Oakland Raiders roster will look completely different in 2019, and on Friday,  they added two players looking to earn a spot this offseason.

The Oakland Raiders have made some huge splashes this offseason, bringing in elite talent at wide receiver, and adding quality talent up and down the roster. On Friday, they did not make a huge signing, but they did bring in two players who should fight for a spot on the roster come this summer.

Oakland dipped into the AAF pool, signing defensive end Alex Barrett. The Mesa, Arizona native most recently played for the San Diego Fleet of the now-defunct AAF, but was a member of the Detroit Lions practice squad in 2017 and 2018.

Outside of Barrett, the Raiders also added to their secondary, signing Jordan Richards, most formerly of the Atlanta Falcons. Richards started 12 games for the Falcons last season, his second stop over a four-year NFL career.

Richards was a second round pick of the New England Patriots back in 2015, and has started 19 of the 56 games he has appeared in so far at the NFL level. His 12 starts last season was a career-high.

Both players join a defense that has added a ton of new faces this offseason, including linebackers Brandon Marshall and Vontaze Burfict. In addition, the Silver and Black has added other players to the secondary, including Nevin Lawson, Lamarcus Joyner, and have brought back both Erik Harris and Daryl Worley from last year’s team.

There is no saying whether or not Richards or Barrett will be on the roster when the Raiders kick off their 2019 season in September. However, these are two solid signings for competition this summer, as the Raiders continue to try to erase the memory of the 4-12 season suffered a year ago.