How the Return of Safety Lonnie Johnson Benefits the Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders' defense appears to be headed in the right direction.

How Johnson Fits

Ahead of Week 10, Pete Carroll noted what safety Lonnie Johnson brings to the Raiders' defense. There was a noticeable difference in the Raiders' defensive backfield with Johnson on the field. The veteran safety added an element to Las Vegas' defense that they had been missing.

"Well, you've seen the last two weeks have been a little bit of a shift because we were heading towards Lonnie [Johnson Jr.] coming back, and so you've seen him in a couple different spots. So, he's a most versatile player. He did some really exciting things this week in the game plan, and we hope to continue to expand on that," Carroll said.

Johnson adds experience and depth, among other things. The Raiders' defensive backfield is much more formidable with Johnson in the mix.

Johnson's return quietly played a role in the Raiders holding the Broncos to nearly half the points they average per game. How Johnson progresses over the next few weeks will be noteworthy for a 2-7 Raiders team with an eye on the future. Johnson could be a part of that future.

Lonnie Johnson, Las Vegas Raiders New S — Lonnie Johnson, Las Vegas Raiders S | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

"Well, he has a lot of confidence, and he brings a lot of confidence from his experience and all of that. He's working with Marcus [Robertson] and Joey [Joe Woods]. He knows those guys really well. We trust the heck out of him. We were really excited about his role as he would fit it into the rest of the fellows when we started this thing off,” Carroll said.

“So, he's excited about showing it, and we're excited about saying it. So, I mean, he's just getting started. I mean, this won't be his best game. He's going to improve as he goes, gains his confidence, and all that, gets a chance to tackle a few more guys. He had a couple nice tackles in the game, but he's a very well-versed football player and has a lot of variety to the things he adds."

Las Vegas Raiders Pete Carroll | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

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