When the Raiders declined safety Karl Joseph’s fifth-year option option in the spring of 2019, it set up the former first-round pick to be a free agent in 2020.
Joseph ended up signing with Cleveland on a one-year deal last April, appearing in 14 games for the club, starting eight. But with the Browns signing safety John Johnson early in free agency, Joseph was set up to move on once again.
The Raiders may have relocated to Las Vegas since Joseph departed, but he’s back where he thinks he belongs after signing with the club on Friday.
“I never wanted to leave,” Joseph said, via Vinny Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “This is my home. I was drafted here. I feel like I was born to be a Raider.
“It felt like the right decision was to come back and help finish what I started here and be a part of that.”
In bringing Joseph back, the Raiders filled a need for a veteran safety prior to the draft at the end of the month. But Joseph’s presence is unlikely to stop Las Vegas from adding talent at the position, particularly since the team has already elected to move on from Joseph in the recent past.
In his first stint with the Raiders, Joseph appeared in 49 games with 41 starts. He recorded four interceptions, 15 passes defensed, three fumble recoveries, and 3.0 sacks for the franchise.