With back up safety and special teams star Hiram Eugene looking like he could miss a substantial portion of the 2011 NFL Season, the Oakland Raiders have signed two journeymen safeties in an attempt to fill the void.
The Raiders announced via their twitter page, that they had signed Matt Giordano and Josh Bullocks. Both safeties have been in the league since 2005, primarily playing as back ups.
Matt Giodano's name should ring a bell for Bay Area natives as he was an impactful player at Cal before going to the NFL. Giordano was a fourth round draft pick by the Indianapolis Colts back in 2005. He was a back up safety and special teams player with the Colts and earned a Super Bowl ring as a member of the 2006 squad that defeated the Chicago Bears. Giordano has also spent time with the Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints.
Josh Bullocks was also drafted in 2005, but was a much bigger prospect at the time. Bullocks was chosen in the second round by the New Orleans Saints. He played for the Saints until 2008, appearing in 62 games, and starting in 49 of those games. Bullocks never lived up to his second round draft status but has been able to be a consistent NFL back up. Bullocks also spent one season with the Chicago Bears.
Neither of these guys is going to push for a starting job in Oakland, but they could add some valuable depth to the Raiders secondary. Giordano in particular, is a very interesting signing. He has ties to the Bay Area because of Cal and will likely add to the team both in his play, as well as with his experience. Girodano has experience with very good quality teams in the NFL and not only has playoff experience, but also has Super Bowl experience.
Losing a guy like Hiram Eugene is never a good thing, but give credit to the Raiders for immediately going out and finding potential replacements who have NFL experience and could step right into the back up role.