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- Mar 19, 2019
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After playing under the transition tag in 2020, Kenyan Drake made his first foray into free agency last week and came away with a two-year, $14.5 million contract with the Raiders.
That’s a solid deal for a running back, especially one who is ostensibly coming in to serve as a backup for Josh Jacobs. But according to Drake himself, head coach Jon Gruden has bigger plans for him.
“Coach Gruden was just head and shoulders above everybody in terms of interest in my ability to kind of come in and be a playmaker in a lot of facets of the game,” Drake said in his introductory press conference, via the team website. “What coach Gruden said [about] how he was going to use me was just being on the field in a multitude of ways, playing receiver, playing running back. Just having the ability to kind of use my versatility as a weapon in the open field is something that really spoke to me. And to kind of share that role with Josh and him being obviously such a capable back, I feel like it spells success for this team.”
Drake noted being a starter wasn’t a high priority for him, and he thinks he’ll build a strong partnership with Jacobs.
Drake rushed for 955 yards and 10 touchdowns in 15 games for Arizona last year, also making 25 receptions for 137 yards.
He did catch at least 50 passes in consecutive years from 2018-2019 with the Dolphins and Cardinals, displaying his versatility.