Woodson: Finality to move this time
ALAMEDA » Charles Woodson always did have his finger on the pulse of the Raiders’ local fan base.
That’s why they turned out in startling numbers at the club facility in May 2013, an organic, social-media driven flash mob that helped convince him to sign with the Raiders after seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
Woodson was back at the practice facility Thursday in a media capacity, filming interviews with Raiders players for the NFL Films show “The Grind.” He said he’ll be at the Coliseum on Sunday when the Raiders host the Jacksonville Jaguars in the last regular- season game at the Coliseum.
“It’s going to be emotional,” Woodson said. “When you think about when Oakland left the last time for L.A., I think people probably suspected there was a chance they might come back at some point in time. You never know, but there’s a chance.
“This time there’s a finality to it. They’ve got a new stadium in Vegas. They’re going to be in Vegas. They’re not coming back to Oakland. I think a lot of people are going to have their hearts ripped out for a second time, but this time they’re not coming back.”
The Raiders have announced no plans to recognize the last game at the Coliseum, but Woodson felt it was important to be there and expects other alumni will be there as well.
“I think for any of the guys that played here, if you had an opportunity to be back here for this game and just basically show your face and just show the fans that you were invested in it too,” Woodson said.
Woodson said every fan base is unique to its own
team, but that Oakland’s relationship with the Raiders is different.
“When you’re out, wherever you’re at, it just drives a little deeper,” Woodson said. “The Raiders fans certainly love their team, and it’s going to be a hard day for a lot of fans in the Bay Area that go to the Coliseum. It was always fun to run out there on Sundays. Standing in front of the Black Hole, having the fans beat on the sides of the stadium, the amount of anticipation and energy before you ran out and played was second to none. That’s something that’s going to be missed.”
Woodson, 43, has been thinking back to his arrival in 1998 as the No. 4 overall draft pick out of Michigan and winner of the Heisman Trophy.
“I was a kid coming out here, basically on my own so to speak,” Woodson said. “We really had a close-knit group.”
Some of the names Woodson brought up were teammates who have since passed away. Woodson pointed to his place in the locker room and where Eric Turner sat, recalling how the veteran safety lent him a pair of shower shoes. Turner died of an aggressive and virulent form of stomach cancer in 2000 at age 31.
Then there was guard Mo Collins, one of the Raiders’ three first-round draft picks along with defensive tackle Leon Bender and Woodson. Collins died at age 38 in 2014 from kidney failure while coaching in high school in North Carolina. Bender, a defensive tackle, died of a seizure and never played a down for the Raiders.
“We were rookies together. Very good friends. Spent a lot of time with his family, he with mine,”
Woodson said. “Darrell Russell was another guy, spent a lot of time with his family.”
Woodson recalled dinners at the homes of different teammates.
“Just a lot of memories of people I was around and you miss those things,” Woodson said. “Now with this being the last game in Oakland, the fans are going to miss those things.”
Woodson’s most enduring memory was his final game on Christmas Eve in 2015. Woodson announced to the local media the week before the game he was retiring at the end of the season and a special night was made all the more special with a 23-20 overtime win on a Sunday night with his wife and two sons in attendance.
It even included a fan taking the field to thank a startled Woodson personally.
“Just the way the team battled, the way it fought was extra special,” Woodson said. “After the game, to get to address the fans, have a Gatorade bath or whatever it was. To have your teammates around, just in appreciation of what they thought of me as a player and a teammate, it was great.”
• Josh Jacobs practiced Thursday and, although he was limited, passed the eye test as far as offensive coordinator Greg Olson is concerned.
“He looked great,” Olson said. “He’s been a pro and obviously he’s shown he can play with injuries.”
Jacobs, who leads the Raiders with 1,061 yards rushing, missed a 42-21 loss to Tennessee with a shoulder injury he has been battling since Week 7.
• Tackle Trent Brown ( pectoral) did not participate in practice and was joined on the sidelines by Gabe Jackson ( knee). Also sitting it out were cornerback Daryl Worley (neck), linebacker Kyle Wilber and linebacker Marquel Lee (toe). Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow (ribs) was limited but not expected to be available until next week.
• Starting linebacker Tahir Whitehead, a positive voice in good times and in bad in the Raiders locker room, was named the club’s nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for community service.
Whitehead’s nomination earns a donation of up to $50,000 in their name to their charity of choice which would increase to $250,000 should he win the award. His list of charitable endeavors is extensive.
“I had my coach in high school teach me something that’s always stuck,” Whitehead said. “It’s not about what you can take on this earth, it’s what you can give back and what impact you make on people while you’re here.”