Oakland Raiders: Taylor Mays Signing Puzzling

By Jonathan George | Aug 27, 2015

The Oakland Raiders announced that they were signing free agent safety Taylor Mays this week, per ESPN’s Bill Williamson. The deal is a one year low risk contact for the Raiders, who are apparently looking for depth at the safety position, along with what they hope is a better than average special teams player. Mays comes to Oakland by way of San Francisco, Cincinnati, Minnesota and Detroit.

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Mays would be considered by most fans as a decently sized bust since he came into the league as a second round draft pick of the 49ers several years ago. In his five years as an NFL player, he has totaled just 84 total tackles and 1 forced fumble, per pro football reference. Mays has started 10 games at safety in his career, but only 4 in his last 4 years.

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For a guy that came out of USC as a prototypical safety in size and production, Mays has not been as advertised.

While the Raiders have potential issues in the secondary with both production and depth, it still seems strange that they would turn to Mays as an answer. Mays has literally been on three teams rosters this offseason; Vikings coach Mike Zimmer brought him in for a look as he was familiar with him during his tenure in Cincinnati, but they released Mays about three months later.

Then Detroit took a chance Mays could be a quality depth signing, but that quickly proved untrue as both Mays and the Lions agreed to part ways when he asked them for his release recently.

Now he comes to Oakland to fight for a roster spot, and the Raiders are obviously hoping his 5th team and venue is the charm. But the logical fan has to think that at this point in Mays’ career, it’s not the venue, it’s him.

Sure, Oakland isn’t exactly stacked at safety when it comes to talent, specifically younger talent. Ageless veteran Charles Woodson is expected to be a big contributor on defense, but at 38 years of age, he’s no spring chicken. Nate Allen is still in his prime, but he struggled last season in coverage. Even given these issues, if Mays ends up making the team and replacing either player the Raiders are in trouble.

In terms of special teams, it is well documented that the Raiders have a lot of depth at the wide receiver spot, as well as several other positions. Mays would have to beat out most of these players with some amazing performances in the next few weeks, as the decision to cut some of these guys will be tough as it is for coach Jack Del Rio.

Mays may have one thing going for him: the last time he was a difference maker at safety he was roaming the defensive backfield for USC, and the Raiders current defensive coordinator, Ken Norton Jr., was a prominent defensive coach when Mays was there. It doesn’t hurt that Del Rio is a former great at USC as well, and both Del Rio and Norton Jr. might have a soft enough spot in their heart to give Mays a shot in Oakland.

Minus an injury or two, it would be at least a minor upset for Mays to make the final 53 man roster. He doesn’t have a lot of time to prove he belongs, and Del Rio won’t keep a guy on the team just because he’s a fellow alumni of USC. Mays hasn’t done anything in his career to warrant an automatic spot on the roster. With other veteran options still out there in free agency, albeit all with issues as well, the signing of Mays seems like a stretch to work out.

Next: Raiders preseason week 2: What we learned

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