The Raiders have signed linebacker Marquis Cooper.  The 26-year old Cooper has played in 34 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 32 tackles.  Cooper will provide depth on defense and help out on special teams but don’t expect a whole lot out of him.

With Drew Carter done for the season with a serious injury the Raiders moved quick to replace him by signing 28-year old WR Ashley Lelie.  Lelie played in 15 games (3 starts) for the 49ers last season and he caught 10 passes for 115 yards (11.5 avg).  But, Lelie has the speed that Al Davis covets as he can get down the field to catch some bombs from JaMarcus Russell.  Lelie has now played in 94 games (53 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 206 passes for 3,552 yards (17.2 avg) with 13 TD grabs.  He has also carried the football 20 times for 172 yards (8.6 ypc) in his career.

The Raiders have signed safety Marviel Underwood to help provide depth for them in the secondary.  The 26-year old Underwood has not played in the NFL since the 2005 season with the Packers.  That year he played in 16 games and made 36 tackles and forced 1 fumble.  This is a low risk move for the Raiders as they hope Underwood will be able to help out on special teams and with depth in the defensive backfield.

UPDATE:  The Raiders released Marviel Underwood after the final preseason game.  He made 7 tackles and defensed a pass in his only game as a Raider.

The Raiders have signed 30-year old safety Adam Archuleta.  Archuleta played in 15 games (10 starts) with the Bears last season and he made 61 tackles, had 2 sacks, intercepted 1 pass and he defensed 3 passes.  The Raiders were lucky to find a safety of Archuleta’s quality this late in training camp.  Archuleta has now played in 103 games (86 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 530 tackles, has 18 sacks, defensed 21 passes and he has 4 interceptions (one he returned 85 yards for a TD).  This was a nice signing for the Raiders as Archuleta will likely be able to help with depth at safety and he can help out on special teams.  The Raiders cut safety Greg Wesley to make room on the roster for Archuleta.

Sebastian Janikowski is banged up right now and that is the reasoning for the signing of 30-year old Aaron Elling.  Elling last played in the NFL in 2005.  He has played in 33 games in his NFL career and he has made 19 of 28 field goals (67.9%).  He also has converted all 50 of his extra point attempts.  Look for Elling to get cut as soon as Janikowski starts feeling better.