logo
We hit 41 in our Raiders countdown to kickoff. Who wore it best and who's wearing it now

We hit 41 in our Raiders countdown to kickoff. Who wore it best and who's wearing it now

USA Today28-07-2025
We've reached 41 days until the Raiders season opener at Foxboro against the Patriots, With our countdown at 41 days we take a look at who currently dons the number in Silver & Black and who has brought it the most distinction.
No. 41
Who's wearing it now: CB Greedy Vance
Vance is an undrafted rookie out of USC.
Who wore it best: LB Phil Villapiano
One of the more bombastic characters in the history of the Raiders franchise. You can often hear the spirit of the Raiders told through his thick New Jersey accent. You simply won't find another person more passionate about anything than Villapiano was about football and the Raiders.
A second round pick in 1971, the Bowling Green alum played the first nine years of his 13-year NFL career with the Raiders. In that time he made four Pro Bowls and was a starting linebacker for Super Bowl XI which was the team's first championship. And he will tell you about it. The only people who don't love Phil Villapiano were his opponents. He was loud and proud and backed it up.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Raiders back-end safety getting bigger opportunity after Lonnie Johnson injury
Raiders back-end safety getting bigger opportunity after Lonnie Johnson injury

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Raiders back-end safety getting bigger opportunity after Lonnie Johnson injury

The Las Vegas Raiders lost starting safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. to a serious injury. Johnson suffered a broken fibula during the team's mock-game training camp practice at Allegiant Stadium over the weekend. Head coach Pete Carroll is now tasked with replacing the projected starter in his lineup. Isaiah Pola-Mao and Jeremy Chinn are now the top safeties on the Raiders roster. Pola-Mao was signed to a contract extension by new GM John Spytek earlier this offseason, and Chinn inked a two-year deal with the team in free agency. Johnson's injury setback is still significant, and it creates new opportunities for a third safety to emerge in the rotation. At Monday's practice, that was third-year safety Chris Smith II. The former Georgia standout earned some first-team reps with the defense, according to Raiders digital reporter Levi Edwards. Smith took advantage of the opportunity by making several plays. Former Raiders GM Dave Ziegler selected Smith in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft. Smith played 191 snaps on special teams as a rookie, and just 22 as a defender. His role expanded on special teams as a sophomore (2024), but he played even fewer defensive snaps (11) than he did as a rookie. With fewer than 40 career defensive snaps, the Raiders are taking a chance on Smith by offering him first-team defense reps. Johnson's injury has created an opportunity for him. The Raiders should assess what Smith does with his new-found chance, but signing a veteran free-agent safety may be a better solution. This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders DB Chris Smith gets bigger opportunity at training camp

Geno Smith: 'Let 'Em Sleep on the Raiders. We're Working in the Shadows'
Geno Smith: 'Let 'Em Sleep on the Raiders. We're Working in the Shadows'

Fox Sports

timean hour ago

  • Fox Sports

Geno Smith: 'Let 'Em Sleep on the Raiders. We're Working in the Shadows'

National Football League Geno Smith: 'Let 'Em Sleep on the Raiders. We're Working in the Shadows' Published Aug. 5, 2025 10:58 a.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Following a Week 1 win in the 2022 NFL season, then-Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith responded to a question about being "written off" by saying that he didn't "write back." Smith has now delivered another banger of a one-liner about his new team, that being the Las Vegas Raiders. "I believe that the game gets settled between the white lines on game day. From my vantage point, we got a really, really good team. I don't know if we'll shock anyone inside of this building, but maybe shock some outsiders. But it's good. Let 'em sleep. I don't want them to see us coming. We're just working in the shadows right now, getting our game right and when it's time to go under those bright lights, I think we'll be ready," Smith said in an appearance on NFL Network on Monday. Smith was an essential element to a pivotal offseason for the Raiders, which also saw them hire a new general manager in John Spytek and a new head coach in former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. Later acquiring Smith from Seattle for a third-round draft pick, Las Vegas reunited Carroll with his former quarterback. Smith and the Raiders later agreed to a two-year, $75 million extension. Last season (2024), Smith totaled 4,320 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns, 15 interceptions and a 93.2 passer rating, while completing 70.4% of his passes. He also rushed for 272 yards and two touchdowns. Smith ranked 12th among quarterbacks with an 83.1 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus. ADVERTISEMENT Across his three years as Seattle's starting quarterback (2022-24), Smith averaged 4,075.3 passing yards, 23.7 passing touchdowns, 11.7 interceptions and a 95.5 passer rating per season, while completing 68.5% of his passes. He was a Pro Bowler in each of the first two seasons, with Carroll and the Seahawks parting ways after the 2023 season. Smith had previously backed up Russell Wilson from 2019-21, which was preceded by a four-year stint with the New York Jets (2013-16) and one-year stints with the New York Giants (2017) and Los Angeles Chargers (2018). As for the perceived doubt surrounding the Raiders' 2025 prospects, their division (AFC West) includes three teams that made the playoffs last season; the Kansas City Chiefs have won three of the past six Super Bowls and won the AFC in five of the past six seasons, including in 2024, while the Chargers and Denver Broncos each won double-digit games and earned a wild-card berth last season. The Raiders finished 4-13. As for the rest of the Raiders' offseason, they selected Boise State running back and 2024 Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, while adding safety Jeremy Chinn, defensive end Malcolm Koonce, linebacker Elandon Roberts and running back Raheem Mostert, among other signings. Ironically, Smith and the Raiders open the 2025 preseason on the road against the Seahawks on Thursday. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! share

Fantasy Football: Geno Smith headlines sleeper candidates at the QB position for 2025
Fantasy Football: Geno Smith headlines sleeper candidates at the QB position for 2025

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Fantasy Football: Geno Smith headlines sleeper candidates at the QB position for 2025

Fantasy football managers are smarter than ever, so finding a player who's actually being slept on can be difficult. With that in mind, we're shifting our focus to late-round targets who could drastically outproduce their ADP in 2025. Over the next week, I'll shine the spotlight on my favorite sleeper candidates at every key fantasy position — starting with quarterbacks. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Fantasy Sleepers Quarterbacks Running Backs (Aug. 6) Wide Receivers (Aug. 7) Tight Ends (Aug. 8) Geno Smith, Raiders Smith is an underrated NFL quarterback and unfortunately that perception bleeds over into the fantasy world. It's true that his fantasy stats have taken a step back since his breakout campaign with the Seahawks in 2022, where he finished with the fifth most points at his position and was a top-10 QB in fantasy points per game (18.5). That year, he was eighth in passing yards, fourth in passing touchdowns and first in completion percentage. There's no denying his 2023 season was more of a struggle, but injuries to Seattle's offensive line — including both starting tackles going down in the opener — increased the degree of difficulty. He stumbled to a QB25 result (15.7 fppg). In 2024, Smith's numbers bounced back and he ended the year among the top-five in passing yards and completion percentage. He even graded out as Pro Football Focus' eighth best passer. Fantasy-wise, that made him the QB17 on a per game basis (16.5 fppg). But the 34-year-old posted eight top-12 weekly performances, including six in the first half of the season before Tyler Lockett's performance declined. The Raiders liked what they saw and traded for Smith, believing he can be their solution under center. Now, he's reunited with his coach during that career year — Pete Carroll. They're joined by Chip Kelly, who is bringing his uptempo attack to Vegas, which should keep Smith's arm busy. You could also argue the supporting cast in the desert rivals the talent Smith had in the Pacific Northwest. Brock Bowers, Ashton Jeanty and Jakobi Meyers form the core, which will combine with a group of intriguing young wideouts vying for the No. 2 receiver job. Remember when Jared Goff only had to play outdoors three times last year and it helped him deliver QB8 fantasy production? Well, Smith gets that cheat code this year, with 12 indoor games and just four outside. In addition, he gets the eighth easiest slate in my fantasy strength of schedule matrix. So, while he might be coming off two down years, it's hard to justify Smith going off the board after the top-20 quarterbacks in ADP. He's already proved he can be a low-end fantasy QB1 and at worst his situation in Vegas is setting him up to push for a high-end QB2 output. Anthony Richardson Sr., Colts Things weren't looking good for Richardson following an injury-plagued and inconsistent season, low-lighted by him taking himself out of a game to catch his breath. It seemed to get even worse, when he missed time in OTAs with a shoulder issue. Thankfully, he was a full go for training camp and has earned a good amount of praise from those around the team for his recent performances in practice. As we know, Richardson just needs to get on the field in order to instantly be considered a fantasy starter. The 23-year-old has only played the majority of the Colts' snaps 12 times over the last two seasons, but has eclipsed 20 fantasy points in 50% of those outings. The main reason for that is his rushing production. Even in an up-and-down campaign, Richardson still averaged over 45 rushing yards per contest — which was third-best in 2024, behind only Lamar Jackson and Jayden Daniels. Indy has also assembled a great collection of talent at the skill positions, including Jonathan Taylor, Josh Downs, Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Adonai Mitchell and first-round rookie tight end Tyler Warren, who apparently has been flashing a real connection with Richardson so far. Despite being locked in a camp battle with Daniel Jones, Richardson is still someone worth taking a chance on as an extreme upside swing in the later rounds. Michael Penix Jr., Falcons Penix is a bit of a forgotten man, overshadowed by the massive fantasy potential of the other five quarterbacks taken in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft. After being forced to wait his turn behind veteran Kirk Cousins last season, Penix finally slid into the starting lineup in Week 16 and showed improvement in each subsequent appearance. He was the QB24 in fppg during that stretch, mostly on the back of a strong Week 18 performance when he threw for 312 yards and two scores, while adding another touchdown on the ground. Rushing production will be limited from a pocket passer like Penix, but he finds himself in the kind of offensive environment where he could thrive. Bijan Robinson is arguably the best all-around running back in the league, Drake London announced his presence as a true No. 1 receiver last year, Darnell Mooney (when healthy) is an above-average second option and tight end Kyle Pitts has clearly formed a bond with Penix, who told reporters KP will be getting targeted often this year. Penix will also benefit from a top-10 offensive line, a solid play-caller in Zac Robinson and the 10th friendliest fantasy schedule among quarterbacks. Though Penix might not have the same fantasy ceiling as some other young QBs due to his lack of rushing stats, he can still far outproduce his current ADP of QB25. Cam Ward, Titans I would normally never put a first-round pick in a sleeper column, but has there ever been a quarterback taken first overall who received less hype than Ward entering their rookie season? Fantasy managers don't seem intrigued at all by the 23-year-old and no one's making the case that he could surprise and be fantasy relevant in Year 1. While that's still a long shot, let me remind everyone what Titans head coach Brian Callahan did when Joe Burrow went down for the last seven weeks of the 2023 season. Over that span, Callahan helped backup Jake Browning turn into a top-seven fantasy QB. Though it helps when you're throwing to the Bengals dynamic duo of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. To their credit, the Titans have made positive strides to improve their pass-catching corps — bringing in rookies Elic Ayomanor, Chimere Dike, Xavier Restrepo and maybe they can get something early in the season out out of fading veteran Tyler Lockett. That new group will join star Calvin Ridley and promising tight end Chig Okonkwo. Tennessee also has two backs who are very capable in the passing game in Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears. The Titans have even gone to great lengths to upgrade their offensive line, investing multiple first-round picks and many free-agent dollars in their blocking over the last couple offseasons. Whether that's enough for Ward to find success as a rookie remains to be seen. He does have the confidence and arm talent required to be a franchise quarterback. And while he's not the biggest threat as a runner, his pocket awareness allows him to buy time to make plays. For fantasy, that might max him out as a mid-range QB2. However, that would make him a value where he's going now as the QB23. Fantasy Sleepers Quarterbacks Running Backs (Aug. 6) Wide Receivers (Aug. 7) Tight Ends (Aug. 8)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store