Raiders countdown to kickoff: 5 days left, who wore it best?

Just five days remain until the Raiders kick off the 2017 season. The NFL season opens in two days with Thursday Night Football, which should act as an appetizer before the Raiders face the Titans in Tennessee on Sunday.

No one wears the number 5 these days for the Raiders. Even when they had 90 players on the roster, there wasn’t anyone wearing number five.

Who wore it best: QB Kerry Collins (2004-05)

When Collins signed on with the Raiders as a free agent from the Giants, the former 5th overall draft pick had already been to a Pro Bowl and a Super Bowl. He was also just a couple seasons removed from throwing for over 4000 yards. The Raiders were just a season removed from having been to the Super Bowl themselves and had a former league MVP at quarterback in Rich Gannon who threw for nearly 4700 yards that season.

The next season, the 38-year-old Gannon would last just 7 games prompting the Raiders to bring in Collins as an insurance plan. That quickly turned out to be a wise investment when Gannon went down with what turned out to be a career-ending injury in week three and Collins was once again a starting NFL quarterback.

Over two seasons in Oakland, Collins started 28 games. In that time he threw for 7254 yards with 41 touchdowns to 32 interceptions. The Raiders decided to move on from him after that, opting instead for free agent addition Aaron Brooks and former third round pick Andrew Walter. It was the beginning of a long string of terrible decisions the Raiders made at the quarterback position.

As for Collins, he would play six more seasons, five of which in Tennessee. One of those seasons he would lead the Titans to a 12-3 record and a berth in the playoffs, earning a spot in the Pro Bowl. In total, Collins played 17 seasons in the NFL.