Oakland Raiders were "very, very, very, very" close to signing Terence Newman

The Oakland Raiders are in desperate need of help at the cornerback position and came very, very, very, very, very close to signing a veteran corner in Terence Newman earlier this off season. At least that is what Newman said after his resigning with the Cincinnati Bengals was officially announced. his is not surprising considering how long Newman took to make his decision. At one point early in the process, it appeared as though Newman was going to sign any minute. Over a week later, Newman finally made his decision to stay with the Bengals.

When explaining why he decided not to join the Silver and Black, Newman listed two primary reasons, winning and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. Newman said he liked the things the defense was doing and believes that the Bengals have the chance to make a Super Bowl run.

This is not something Raiders fans haven't heard before. It was only last week that a report emerged that Palmer would be willing to be a backup for a team who was more likely to make a run at the Super Bowl. The Raiders have been bad for a long time and it is always hard to land free agents when there is not a lot of hope to get better quickly. Especially with a free agent like Newman who is clearly not going to be in the league for a whole lot longer.

The Raiders still need to address the cornerback position and have been reported to be interested in Tracy Porter and Mike Jenkins. Neither is a stud, but both would represent big upgrades over the corners currently on the roster.