Getty Former Raiders LB Will Compton.
It looked like Will Compton could be calling it a career following his stint with the Las Vegas Raiders last season. The veteran linebacker is 33 now and teams haven’t been throwing a lot of offers his way. However, Compton is back and will be playing football again.
The linebacker announced in a video on his Twitter page that he will be signing with the Atlanta Falcons.
Atlanta is a logical landing spot for Compton. He previously worked with head coach Arthur Smith and defensive coordinator Dean Pees when they were with the Tennessee Titans. He should have a good idea of the defensive system they are running. He also played with starting quarterback Marcus Mariota with the Raiders last season.
The Falcons are 0.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the top spot in the NFC South but have one of the worst defenses in the NFL. They are allowing the sixth-most points in the league and giving up the third-most yards. Compton is more of a special teams ace but could provide some help on defense if Atlanta needs it. At the very least, he’s a good locker room guy and has been a fan favorite everywhere he’s played due to his personality.
Raiders Defense Coming off Best Game of the Season
It’s been a rough year for the Raiders’ defense. They’ve allowed the ninth-most points per game this season and are last in the NFL in sacks and takeaways. Prior to Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, they allowed at least 20 points in every game this season.
The defense had its best game of the season against the Broncos. They sacked Russell Wilson three times and held them to just 16 points en route to the win. The Raiders’ defense has consistently been the subject of criticism this season but they are a big reason the team was able to snap their three-game losing streak.
Maxx Crosby Had Himself a Game
The one player on the Raiders’ defense who has been consistently excellent all season is Maxx Crosby. The All-Pro defensive end continued his dominant season against the Broncos. Not did he have 2.0 sacks, but he also blocked a field goal toward the end of the first half. Safety Duron Harmon believes that gave the defense a big spark.
“It gave us a lot of energy going into the second half,” Harmon said Sunday, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic. “We all know Maxx is a tremendous player. I think he’s truthfully a top 10 defensive player in the league. He does it week in and week out, man. He gives us great energy each and every day. He plays the right way, man. He did a good job of just taking over the game when we needed him to.”
Crosby believes the defense has lacked energy in recent weeks. He took it upon himself to bring that energy up against the Broncos.
“We talked about it all week, just our energy, and it was huge for us. We haven’t had energy in the last few games, and you could just feel it. You could watch the film and see it,” Crosby said. “Duron, again, pointed that out and we took it as a challenge. We were out there just playing for each other, and we saw the result. We just got to keep improving off that. We can’t get too high, too low, but a moment like this is big for us. We’ve been going through a lot. I’m just proud of all the guys, man.”