Raiders coach Jon Gruden said last month that he will be “trying to throw the game back to 1998″ in his return to the sideline after a long spell in the broadcast booth and you can’t be a throwback in pro football without a fullback.
Gruden got one on Thursday. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Raiders have signed former Cowboys fullback Keith Smith to a two-year deal worth $4.2 million.
Smith spent the last four years in Dallas and moved from linebacker to fullback two years ago. He was in on about 12 percent of the offensive snaps while playing in every game each of the last two years and got 10 touches (eight catches, two carries) over that span.
Smith was also a regular on special teams for the Cowboys and that figures to be the case in Oakland unless Gruden’s time machine dials up some really old-school offensive looks.