Raiders waive Ekejiuba, add assistant to Fassel’s unit
The Oakland Raiders tinkered with their special teams on Thursday, hiring Craig Dickenson to John Fassel’s unit. He will replace Aaron Pelch, as an assistant to Fassel, a move that has not been officially announced by the Silver & Black.
Dickenson stated in an interview with the Great Falls (Montana) Tribune that he was hired in April.
“I had met John two years ago at the Senior Bowl in Alabama, and we stayed in touch a little bit,” Dickenson said in the interview with the Great Falls Tribune. “We’re kind of similar in our interests. He’s an outdoorsy guy who likes to bike and run triathlons. I like that stuff, too. He called me in late March and said they were going to hire a second special-teams coach. I interviewed with him and got the job in April.”
Dickenson, 38, has coached in the Canadian Football League the last eight seasons, but has experience in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers.
Oakland also waived linebacker/special teams ace Isaiah Ekejiuba.
The Nigerian born 28-year old announced the move via his Twitter page, stating:
He continued after fan support: “I really appreciate all the support on this. Keep yall posted on how everything plays out!”
The Raiders last off-season inked Ekejiuba to a 3-year deal for $5.4 million with a $1.25 million signing bonus.
In an interview with SBREPORT.NET, Ekejiuba talked about the expectations after signing such a deal:
SBREPORT: The deal is among the highest in the league for a special teamer. Do you now feel that there is more of a burden on you to play at a high level to justify the contract?
EKEJIUBA: “Yeah, I think so. You getting a lot of money to do a job and if you are getting paid for it, you have to do an excellent job, or they wouldn’t give you that kind of money. There is pressure to play better.
I don’t think the Raiders are putting more pressure on me than what I put on myself. I know how good of a player I can be. I know where I am and I know where I want to get. I put more pressure on myself with or without the contract to go out there and prove that I am the best, because that what it’s about. At the end of the day, are they going to say, ‘wow, he was a great player’, or, ‘yeah, he was alright.’
You don’t want them to talk about you and say, ‘he played well when he didn’t have money, now he has a little money and his level of play has fell off.’ I want to go to the Pro-Bowl every year, I want to go out there and make plays. And don’t let that drop-off. There is a lot of pressure, but there is more from myself than from the organization.”
Follow me on Twitter — click here.
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
