The Raiders aren’t landing big names on the free agent market, but they are making moves to make sure that the lack of depth that plagued them last season is not a problem again in 2013.
The Raiders announced that they and defensive tackle Vance Walker, who spent the last four years with the Falcons, have agreed on a contract for the 2013 season. He played in all 16 games for Atlanta last season, starting nine times and setting career highs with three sacks and 32 tackles. He largely played a run-stopping role during his years with Atlanta, although those sacks suggest he’s not without some ability to thwart the opposition’s designs on passing the ball.
Walker joins Pat Sims and Jason Hunter as additions to the Raiders defensive line since the start of free agency. All are rotational players, which means the Raiders still need to improve the high-end talent but they were short on players with even the more modest resumes in 2013.
The Raiders are expected to bring back just three starters from last year’s defense, so we should be seeing more signings like this out of Oakland in the days and weeks to come.
