The Raiders signed wide receiver/return specialist Trindon Holliday Wednesday, and in a corresponding move, waived/injured rookie WR Andre Debose with an Achilles injury.
Holliday joins the Silver and Black primarily as a return specialist, as he has totaled 82 punt returns for 769 yards (9.4 avg.) and 54 kickoff returns for 1,455 yards (26.9 avg.), with a total of four return touchdowns (two punt, two kickoff) during his 33 career games.
The LSU product was originally drafted in the sixth round (No. 197 overall), by the Houston Texans in the 2010 NFL Draft, and has since spent time with the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and most recently the San Francisco 49ers.
"There's no question the former top sprinter can make players miss, of course. Getting speed in space is one of the more difficult things to do in the NFL, but if someone can get Holliday more opportunities to fly out in the open he might stick somewhere for awhile," wrote Connor Orr of Around the NFL.
Trindon Holliday also has postseason experience, appearing in four playoff games and totaling 90 yards on three punt returns (30.0 avg.) with one score and 12 kickoff returns for 344 yards (28.7 avg.) with one touchdown.
"He's had his bright moments," wrote Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk. "He's the only player in NFL history to return a punt and kickoff for touchdowns in the same postseason game — but issues with fumbles and injuries over the years have kept him moving around the league."
Here is NFL.com's overview of Holliday as he prepared to enter the 2010 NFL Draft.
"Holliday is an explosive return specialist who has the ability to take it all the way virtually every time he touches the ball. He gets a quick jump on the ball as it comes off the kicker's foot and does a good job of settling under it to make the catch. He has the kind of elusiveness that can make would-be tacklers grab air and knows how to set up his blockers. He does have a tendency to rely on his pure speed alone and needs to learn how to alter his speed and save something in reserve. With his speed and acceleration, he has a chance to be drafted late in spite of his lack of size and severe limitations as a wide receiver."
