Comics » Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie waited the entire

ALAMEDA Josh Allen Jersey , Calif. (AP) — offseason and most of August for the right opportunity to sign with an NFL team.Then almost as soon as he did, he was thrown right into the action. Rodgers-Cromartie signed with the Oakland Raiders last Thursday as a late addition providing depth in the secondary and was immediately put on the field for nine snaps the following night in an exhibition game against Green Bay.“That was a big surprise to me,” Rodgers-Cromartie said Monday. “But it felt good to be out there and run around and get back into the game.”Rodgers-Cromartie had been waiting for that chance ever since getting cut by the New York Giants in March. He talked with several teams and visited four but didn’t sign a deal until the Raiders called last week.The market wasn’t strong for a 32-year-old who lost his starting job last year and was suspended for one game by the Giants for an unexcused absence.“You just have to wait,” he said. “‘It’s frustrating because I still feel I have ability to go and be out there. It’s frustrating. But you have to understand. Being an older guy, teams are looking to go younger. You just have to wait.”Rodgers-Cromartie is doing his best to get up to speed quickly. He said he was only asked to play man coverage in his brief stint against the Packers and is trying to learn the language of coordinator Paul Guenther’s defense.Rodgers-Cromartie said he’s leaning heavily on former Giants teammate Leon Hall, who has been with the Raiders this entire offseason and also played for Guenther in Cincinnati.Rodgers-Cromartie has been a productive player in his career with 30 interceptions and 144 passes defensed in 153 career games for Arizona, Philadelphia http://www.jaguarscheapstore.com/jawaan-taylor-jersey-cheap , Denver and the Giants.He can play multiple spots in the secondary, although he said he’s more comfortable at cornerback than safety right now because he is still learning the new defense.“That’s what I love about the acquisition,” coach Jon Gruden said of his versatility. “I think he’s a corner. I think he’s a guy that can play the nickel because he’s played the nickel. You can put him in there in a dime position. He can play deep. He’s played in every defense known to man and he can still run. He has size and length. Right now he’s mastering our defense. We’ll try to get a few snaps, hopefully, from him at Seattle and see what happens.”While the Raiders brought Rodgers-Cromartie in just before the start of the season, they made several other moves Monday starting with a trade that dealt receiver Ryan Switzer and a 2019 sixth-round draft pick to Pittsburgh for a fifth-round pick next year.Oakland had acquired Switzer during the draft in a deal with Dallas for 2016 second-round pick Jihad Ward. The Raiders had high hopes for Switzer but Dwayne Harris beat him out as the returner and reserve receiver.“He’s a capable guy coming in there in the slot,” Gruden said. “He can go outside. He showed some separation when he did play the other night. Had a good return called back. He’s a versatile player. We can hand him the ball. We can do a lot of things with him. He’s tough. He was just hurt last year. That was why you didn’t hear from him.”Oakland also signed free agent cornerback Jarell Carter and defensive tackle Connor Flagel. Tackle Breno Giacomini was released and receiver Griff Whalen was placed on injured reserve with turf toe.One player who still isn’t with the team is star pass rusher Khalil Mack Josh Oliver Jersey , who has been holding out all year as he seeks a long-term contract. Mack skipped the entire offseason program, training camp and now will miss the entire exhibition season.Whether he reports before the start of the season in two weeks remains to be seen.“I don’t want to put any timetable on it,” Gruden said. “This has obviously been a long a process that has been grueling for both parties and fans and me personally. We’re just hoping we can get him in here.” INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Cincinnati needed Clayton Fejedelem’s pinch-hitting skills Sunday.He delivered with the perfect swing.The Bengals‘ backup safety jarred the ball loose from Pro Bowl tight end Jack Doyle with less than 35 seconds left in the game. Fejedelem scooped up the loose ball and sprinted down the sideline to end Andrew Luck’s comeback hopes with an 83-yard touchdown return to preserve the Bengals’ 34-23 victory.“Really lucky he just turned, presented his chest and I saw the ball,” Fejedelem said. “I just tried to get down there and do whatever I could. It just kind of popped and the rest is history.”It was an unlikely performance in the most unlikely circumstance.Fejedelem was pressed into service only after starting safety Shawn Williams became the first player this season to be ejected following a helmet-to-helmet hit on Luck.Fortunately for the Bengals, Fejedelem was ready for anything thrown his way.He entered the game with 25 tackles in his first two NFL seasons, but finished with 10 tackles Sunday and even seemed to choreograph the head-first dive to cap his first NFL score.The victory ended Cincinnati’s eight-game losing streak in Indy http://www.jaguarscheapstore.com/quincy-williams-ii-jersey-cheap , gave the Bengals their fourth win in the past five openers and ended Luck’s last gasp chance of a comeback in his first regular-season start in more than 20 months.“It was relief at that point,” Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton said after going 21 of 28 with 243 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. “Them driving the ball down there like that, I was nervous. Our guys made a great play. It’s a big play to end it.”How desperate were the Bengals?With Indy trailing 27-23, Luck took over with 3:52 to go and led the Colts to the Bengals 25.Indy then lost 5 yards on a pass on first down and faced third-and-15 after an incompletion on second down.Doyle caught Luck’s third down pass near the Bengals 15 and appeared to have twisted his way to a first down when he got stood up by one Bengals defender and Fejedelem knocked the ball loose before Doyle’s knee hit the ground.“I messed it up,” Doyle said. “It stings.”Luck was 39 of 53 for 319 yards, two TD passes and an interception on his first official throw of the season — an underthrown pass to Doyle inside the Bengals 5.But Luck helped stake the Colts to a 23-10 lead midway through the third quarter.Then Ryquell Armstead Jersey , just like last season, the Colts couldn’t close it out.Dalton cut the deficit to six with a 38-yard TD pass to A.J. Green and the Bengals retook the lead on Joe Mixon’s leaping 1-yard scoring run with 11:07 left to play. Randy Bullock made it 27-23 with a 39-yard field goal with 3:57 to go.And then Fejedelem ended the Colts’ hopes with one crucial hit.“To make the strip and make the return is big,” coach Marvin Lewis said.NATIONAL ANTHEMThe Colts and Bengals both refrained from any player protests while the national anthem was sung. And neither team had anyone in the locker room.STAT PACKBengals: Mixon carried 17 times for 95 yards and five catches for 54 yards. Green caught six passes for 92 yards and Preston Brown picked off Luck on the Colts’ first possession of the game. Cincinnati was called for four personal fouls.Colts: Adam Vinatieri made three field goals, missing a 55-yarder just before Cincinnati’s go-ahead score. He has 562 field goals, three short of Morten Andersen’s league record. Luck connected with nine receivers, led by Ryan Grant who had eight catches for 59 yards and Doyle who had seven catches for 60 yards.INJURY REPORTBengals: Brown limped off the field late in the first half with an injured right ankle. Defensive tackle Andrew Billings also left with leg cramps late in the third quarter.Colts: Indy did not play with longtime left tackle Anthony Castonzo (hamstring), projected right tackle Denzelle Good (knee/wrist) or running back Marlon Mack (hamstring). The Colts also lost cornerback Chris Milton in the second half after he entered the concussion protocol.THEY SAID ITBengals: “You’re back http://www.jaguarscheapstore.com/gardner-minshew-ii-jersey-cheap ,” Lewis said he told Luck after the game.Colts: “I was certainly a bit emotional before the game and I wish we would have won,” Luck said. “I think I was a little careless with the ball when we had a chance to put some points on the board and make it an insurmountable lead and we don’t do it.UP NEXTBengals: Head home to host Baltimore on Thursday night.Colts: Begin a two-game road trip against the NFC East by visiting Washington next Sunday.