Wide receiver Jordy Nelson didn’t take long to recover from the “little shock to the system” he got when the Packers released him earlier this week.
Nelson landed in Oakland on Wednesday and signed a two-year deal with the Raiders on Thursday. He said there were other trips planned, but that he liked the fit with Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and that things worked out contractually to make them unnecessary.
Nelson also said that he’s confident in his ability to bounce back from a subpar 2017 season with the Packers.
“If you look two years ago, the year I won NFL Comeback Player of the Year coming off my ACL, I was still productive – 1,200 yards, 14 touchdowns,” Nelson said, via the East Bay Times. “I think we had a lot of different things going on last year that obviously affected that. I can still run. I can still catch. Football, at this level, a lot of people focus on speed, but I ran a 4.5 coming out of college so I wasn’t blazing then either. It’s different when you get helmet and shoulder pads on. I think I can do that. I can make plays.”
One thing that remains to be sorted out is what number Nelson is going to where with his new team. Tight end Jared Cook, a former teammate in Green Bay, currently wears No. 87 and Nelson said he is “pretty cheap” so the prospect of paying for it isn’t one that sits well with him.