Getty Casey Hayward, former Raiders CB
In his one season with the Las Vegas Raiders, back in 2021, cornerback Casey Hayward left a big impression. He was a two-time NFL Pro Bowl corner and had nine seasons of experience behind him, invaluable for a secondary that was low on experience. Hayward had an interception and 10 passes defensed, but more than that, he was a popular mentor for the Raiders’ younger defensive backs.
“My goal is just to try to go out there and compete, each and every week,” Hayward said that year. “And I think they brought me here to have a veteran presence and try to lead these guys. That’s what I’m trying to do. It’s not going to be perfect. I’m not going to make every play. People are going to catch the ball. … Each and every week the goal is to win.”
Alas, Hayward only stuck with the Raiders for one year and signed with the Falcons in free agency following his Raiders stint. But his time in Atlanta was cut short by a pectoral injury. Hayward has not been able to get back into the league since.
He could yet have a chance—he worked out with the 49ers, the favorites to win the Super Bowl this year, on Tuesday.
Casey Hayward Was a Raiders ‘Veteran Presence’
Hayward showed he could still play while with the Raiders, coming off a poor year with the Chargers in 2020. Pro Football Focus graded him at a 76.6 for the season, which was 20th among all cornerbacks and sixth among corners who played at least 1,000 snaps. But he was also, as he said, a “veteran presence.” One of the players he mentored was Nate Hobbs, then a rookie.
Hobbs had his best NFL season playing alongside Hayward. There was some notion that perhaps the Raiders should bring Hayward back to, again, be a veteran presence for Hobbs and others in the secondary.
Secondary coach Ron Milus said of Hayward in 2021, “What he is, is a true pro and he’s someone they can bounce stuff off of. Plus, he leads by example. Now, it’s not always an example; he’ll tell them, ‘Hey, that’s not quite how we do it.’ But Casey is a pro and I think that’s what he brings to the table.”
A Super Bowl Chance in Las Vegas?
If he were to join the 49ers, it would not necessarily be his veteran presence that the team would need—it would just be his knowledge of the game and his ability to jump into a new situation and hold his own.
Hayward would likely remain in a practice-squad spot with the 49ers, unless there was an injury.
“Well, we’re allowed six veterans on the practice squad, and we like those veterans to be guys who can help us in a pinch,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Tuesday. “We wanted to make sure we at least got to get another corner in. We want to take a look at some vets since that spot opened up.”
Maybe Hayward will get signed, and perhaps he’ll be back in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. And who knows, the Raiders have a young secondary—maybe Hayward could be back as a veteran presence next year.