And Wesley makes four: Ex-Chief shores up Raiders at safety (hopefully)

Over the weekend, " target="_new">safety Greg Wesley reportedly visited with the ; it turns out that team and player liked one another so much that Wesley has signed a one-year contract.Aside from just general principles of swiping an underappreciated vet from an AFC West rival (in this case, the Kansas City Chiefs), the Wesley signing represents a perceptive and well-taken move by the silver and black.Wesley was an unfortunate victim of the Chiefs’ youth movement, having been essentially assured that he’d lose his job to draft pick DeJuan Morgan; a bit 4 Brett Favre White jersey
mysterious is the other 31 teams’ hesitance to make a trade for the 30-year-old Wesley. (On the other hand, who makes trades in the NFL anymore? Oh yeah, Washington and Miami. And New Orleans. And ... ah, forget it.)As late as 2005, Wesley was a top-level safety starting all 16 games for the Chiefs and bagging six interceptions while recording eight passes defensed. In fact, in his first six years with the club after being a third-round pick in 2000, Wesley’s average season featured five interceptions, 66 tackles and one sack. In the high-expectation season of 2006, though, Wesley was another disappointment on a frustrating Kansas City team, suddenly a shadow of his '05 self repeatedly getting burned deep for whatever reason.About a week ago, Wesley was released, leaving behind his nine years, 29 picks and nearly 500 tackles with Kansas City. Fortunately for Raiders fans, again, the man’s only 30 and still has some time to turn his career around and produce for at least a season.Unfortunately for Raiders fans, Wesley has played the attitude monster all this year in expressing his disgruntlement with the Kansas City front office. He self-proclaimed himself “done with the Chiefs” in May, laid out the old “trade me or release me” demand and ultimately took his case to the media, ranting that: "They told me they were going to let me go right when the season was over. This is my livelihood. My career took a little bit of a hit last year. I've been a starter, and then last year they gave a guy my position. There was no competition. They just gave it to him. So it's obvious they don't want me. So why not let me go on my way? Let me get my career back on track. Let me go play. I'm not a backup."Red flags? Sure. What’s that about “my career took a little bit of a hit last year”? A player admitting he lost a step? Perhaps, but probably Wesley is referring to the simple fact that 2007 saw him go his first season as a backup. Bernard Pollard instead got the call at Wesley’s spot while Wesley was used sparingly. "They could have traded me last year,” said Wesley. “They chose not to. I was good about it, didn't cause distractions or problems during the season.”The Raider Nation had better hope that Wesley’s reticence to come off the bench evaporates quickly, because there’s no way Michael Huff and Gibril Wilson are budging from the first 11 on the Oakland ‘D’.On the other hand, if Wesley is happy in the silver and black, he should make the team by dint of necessity alone. In competing for playing time, the names being bandied around for Wesley to overcome include the likes of Rashad Baker, John Bowie, Jarrod Cooper, Darrick Brown and Michael Waddell. In fact, with the secondary Oakland’s building up for Jets 6 Sanchez AFL50th jersey
2008, the Raiders could probably stand pat at safety with Huff, Wilson, Wesley and Tyvon Branch.All in all, then, a decent pickup for the Raiders (if Wesley sticks, that is). A bit of veteran savvy, particularly from a guy with lots of hatred for the Chiefs is always welcome for the Raiders, particularly as a quick-fix solution for a somewhat thin secondary.Huff, Wilson, Wesley and Branch, eh? Not bad.Always appreciating the old guys throughout the year at (21)