Will Oakland Raiders 2014 Defense Include Charles Woodson, Lamarr Houston?

Charles Woodson (24) has started every game at free safety for the Oakland Raiders this season and would like to be back in 2014. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

There were questions about how much Charles Woodson had left in the tank when he signed a one-year deal to play safety for the Oakland Raiders this season.

The former All-Pro cornerback had been limited to just seven games with the Green Bay Packers in 2012 and he would be turning 37 in October of this season.

As it turns out, Woodson was a bargain on a deal that could pay him up to $4.3 million. He’s started every game for Oakland at free safety and had recorded 76 tackles, two fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, two passes defensed and an interception.

As far as 2014 goes, if the Raiders are game, Woodson would like to be back.

"“I want to play again,” Woodson said on 95.7 FM The Game during an interview with John Lund and Greg Papa (h/t CSNBayArea.com). “I think this is the only place that I would play. I do plan on coming back for the Raiders. If that didn’t happen, then I think I would have to decide if I want to go somewhere else for another year. If I’m wanted here, I’m coming back.”"

Defensive end Lamarr Houston, on the other hand, is very much in wait-and-see mode.

The fourth-year pro is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent for the first time this winter and Oakland’s second-round draft pick out of Texas in 2010 said that while he wants to remain a Raider, there are a lot of variables.

"“Ideally, I would love for it to be here,” Houston told CSNBayArea.com. “Whatever decision [general manager] Reggie [McKenzie] makes or the coach makes, that’s up to them. We’ll see what happens. This is a cutthroat business. It’s rough sometimes. You never know what will come next.”"

The Raiders have offered Houston an extension, according to the report, but no deal has been reached.

Houston is one of the Raiders’ captains on the defensive side this season and has five sacks (matching a career high), two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and 54 tackles in this, his first season on the right side of the defensive line after three years playing left end.

In almost four seasons, Houston has 15.5 sacks and has never missed a game due to injury.

The knock on Houston remains inconsistency. Of those five sacks Houston has this year, only one has come in the last six games. And then there are the days where he seems to disappear, such as the Thanksgiving Day loss at Dallas where his name was seldom called.