Countdown to 2020: Best Raiders player to wear No. 59 all-time
By Brad Weiss
With 59 days until the opening game of 2020, we start the count down with the best Raiders player at every jersey number. Today we focus on No. 59.
With the season a few months away, we take a look at the best player to wear the jersey number of the number of days left before the opener on September 13, 2020 against the Carolina Panthers. That game will kick off the new era of Raiders football.
We continue our series with No. 59.
Tahir Whitehead came to the Raiders prior to the 2018 NFL season, donning No. 59, and was expected to not only be a starting linebacker, but a leader for the defense. During his two seasons, like he did with the Detroit Lions, he racked up the tackles, but was an extreme liability when it came to coverage.
His lack of ability in coverage is one of the reasons the Raiders went out and got guys like Nick Kwiatkoski and Cory Littleton this offseason. Las Vegas will get to see Whitehead early in the 2020 NFL season, as he latched on with the Carolina Panthers this offseason.
With that said, let us look at the best Raiders player to put on the No. 59 in team history.
Jon Condo (2007-2017)
From the year 2007 through the 2017 NFL season, one position the Raiders franchise did not have to worry about was long snapper. Jon Condo held down that role as one of the best in the game for over a decade in the Silver and Black, appearing in all but three games during that span.
A product of the University of Maryland, where he was not only the long snapper, but also a defensive end, Condo went undrafted before landing with the Dallas Cowboys. Condo actually earned the long snapper job out of camp, but struggled, was cut, and then landed with the New England Patriots.
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After toiling on the Patriots practice squad, he was signed by the Raiders in November of the 2006 season, and would take over as a starter the next year. As a Raider, Condo would be named to two Pro Bowls, making his first appearance in 2009, and then another appearance for the 2011 NFL season.
While Condo would end up playing in Atlanta for a year, and then finishing up with a one-game run with the San Francisco 49ers, he will always be remembered as a Raider.