The Oakland Raiders signed DE C.J. Wilson Friday afternoon. The four-year NFL veteran spent the first part of his career with the Green Bay Packers, playing in 50 games and recording 76 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
Wilson was originally drafted by the Packers in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of East Carolina. He has Super Bowl experience, starting in Super Bowl XLV when the Packers faced the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Wilson is familiar with Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie who was a part of the Packers organization for the first two years of Wilson's career. "That was like one of the biggest factors is that I know Reggie. He's a great guy," said Wilson.
The Pinetown, N.C., native was also sold on the Raiders organization after speaking with Head Coach Dennis Allen, defensive coordinator Jason Tarver and linebackers coach Bob Sanders. "I got to meet some of the coaches, head coach and D-coordinator and linebackers coach, and they all…you can see why this is a great organization," said Wilson. "A [few] more pieces to the puzzle and we can have a great team. When you have great coaches, meeting them that fast, learning the system, some of the things they taught me already, I'm like, 'I'm ready to go!' I want to put my pads on already."
The 6-3, 305-pound defensive lineman joins a revamped Raiders defensive front with the additions of Justin Tuck, Antonio Smith and LaMarr Woodley. "It's great. I got to play against these guys the last four seasons of my career and I've seen what these guys have done to us and it's good to be able to play alongside these guys now and learn and be a help to cause havoc and make some noise in this league this year," said Wilson.
Wilson believes his passion, skills and knowledge can help the Raiders defense be successful. "[I bring] emotion. I think I fill up the middle too," said Wilson. "I have a lot of veteran leadership in me and so I think I'll help with that. I think more than anything, getting after it. I came from Green Bay; we're used to winning. This is a great organization, got a great history with the team, so I'll help a lot."
He is ready to contribute to the Raiders. "I'm very excited to become part of a great organization and be a help to the team and make some noise," he said.
He's excited to don the Silver and Black. "It feels great to be a Raider now. As soon as I stepped off the plane, I liked it," said Wilson. "I liked the Oakland area, seeing all the Raiders fans and all the signs and everything. I feel like I'm at home even though I'm way across the United States. It feels at home."
