The Raiders have signed three defensive free agents in the last few days, continuing a makeover on that side of the ball that makes you wonder whether they’ll have any members of the 2012 defense back on the team next season.
If you were having such thoughts, you can go ahead and move your thoughts onto something else. Adam Caplan of TheSidelineView.com reports that the team will re-sign cornerback Joselio Hanson.
Hanson joined the Raiders after being one of the final cuts by the Eagles before the start of the 2012 season and spent most of the year playing out of the slot. He had two interceptions and a forced fumble in that role, one he’s likely to fill again this year while the newly signed Mike Jenkins and Tracy Porter handle the starting roles at cornerback.
Hanson isn’t the only Raiders defender to return from last season, of course, but there are few enough of them that it is something of a novelty. The Raiders could have eight or nine new starters on defense next season, a tremendous amount of turnover from one year to another in the NFL albeit turnover that’s justified after the performance the Raiders put forth defensively last year.