The Las Vegas Raiders signed veteran CB Prince Amukamara and he recently revealed what was a major factor in his decision to join the Silver and Black
After the Eli Apple signing fell through due to not being able to get a physical done in time, the Las Vegas Raiders had a very young group of cornerbacks on the roster. There was an urgent need to find a veteran presence to add to the group and ease the transition for youngsters Trayvon Mullen and Damon Arnette and they filled it with the signing of Prince Amukamara.
Amukamara, most recently with the Chicago Bears, has spent time with the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars in his nine-year career but was released in a cap-relief move. He was quite durable in his time with the Bears, playing in 44 games over 3 years, and was a productive player on one of the best defenses in the league over his tenure.
The former Nebraska Cornhusker may not have been the hottest commodity on the free agent market due to his age but he is a proven player at a position where the Raiders need a stop-gap since the long-term solutions are already in place. The Athletic ranked him as the 41st best free agent available, incidentally one slot ahead of Eli Apple. Amukamara likely had several other suitors due to his veteran status and history of production so why did he choose the Raiders?
In an interview with Raiders.com, Amukamara listed Paul Guenther’s defense as a key reason why he’s on his way to Las Vegas:
"“With Paul’s defense, I followed him when he was at Cincinnati and you can see the guys are aggressive, and he likes for his guys to press and I think that’s where I flourish. I’m one of, if not the best, corners in press, man-to-man coverage in the league and I have the tape to show that, which is why I’m saying that so boldly.“[Guenther] seems like he’s the kind of guy that likes to attack, he doesn’t sit back and wait for the game to come to him. You like that as a defensive player because you know you have a guy who’s going to send pressure and who’s going to take it, and put you in a position to make those plays.”Source: Raiders.com"
Paul Guenther has not been the most popular man in Raider Nation since he joined the team in 2018 and his defenses have ranked near the bottom of the league during his tenure. However much of that was to do with the lack of talent and a certain head coach trading away one of the best defensive players in the league before Guenther’s first game. He had some success in Cincinnati and the defense began to improve late in the season as some key players began to make their presence felt.
With the added talent at all three levels of the defense, including the addition of a veteran leader like Amukamara, the Raiders defense should be much improved in 2020 and will be the building block if they hope to make a trip to the postseason.