The acquisition Wednesday of running back Marshawn Lynch, 31, isn’t the first time the Raiders have reached for the stars.
Listed below are 10 instances of the Raiders bringing aboard some of the biggest names in football through either trade or free agency in the latter stages of their careers and how they fared:
1972: DE Bubba Smith for TE Raymond Chester
Age: 28
One of the NFL’s most fearsome defensive ends with the Baltimore Colts from 1967 through 1971, Smith sustained a severe knee injury running into a first down marker in the 1972 preseason, missed that season, and was dealt to the Raiders in 1973.