Raiders Re-Sign Carlson to 1-Year Deal

On a Busy Day, the Raiders Add Five Other Players to Roster

by Tom LaMarre

The Las Vegas Raiders continued to be very active during the offseason, re-signing kicker Daniel Carlson to a one-year-contract among a flurry of transactions announced by the team.

The Raiders, who signed a number of free agents recently, also claimed tight end Paul Butler on waivers from the Detroit Lions, re-signed quarterback Nathan Peterman and offensive tackle David Sharpe, and signed defensive backs D.J. Killings and Dallin Leavitt to exclusive rights tenders.

The 6-5, 218-pound Carlson was selected in the fifth round (167th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Auburn, where he made All-Southeastern Conference three consecutive years. He is the SEC’s all-time leading scorer with 474 points and made all 198 extra points in his career with the Tigers.

Carlson made only one of his first four field-goal attempts with the Vikings in 2018 before being released and was signed by the Raiders, with whom he made 16-of-17 field-goal attempts and all 18 of his extra point tries in 10 games.

Last season, Carlson made 19-of-26 field goal attempts—including a career-long kick of 50 yards—and 34-of-36 extra point tries. In addition, he had 38 touchbacks on his 71 kickoffs.

The 6-6, 250-pound Butler, who was an unsigned free agent out of California (Pa.) in 2018 and spent parts of the last two seasons on the Raiders’ practice squad before signing with the Lions, who recently released him.

The Raiders already have tight ends Darren Waller, Jason Witten, Foster Moreau, Derek Carrier and Nick O’Leary.