On the Raiders’ current roster, Miller, punter AJ Cole and defensive end Maxx Crosby are the only three players that played in Oakland before the team’s relocation.
Cole and Crosby arrived in Oakland in 2019, the punter as an undrafted free agent and the edge rusher as a fourth-round pick from Eastern Michigan. They look back fondly on that season, as their time in the Bay Area shaped them as professionals.
“I truly am beyond grateful for the city of Oakland,” Crosby said. “Especially being a rookie, just how they accepted me and accepted the team and loved Raider football so much, it was an extremely special time.”
Cole reminisced on his first game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in 2019, a 24-16 victory over Denver in Week 1 on Monday Night Football.
“It was just an electric atmosphere,” Cole said. “One of the things that you hear coming into the NFL is that the college atmosphere is better. And that first game I was like, ‘I don’t know if that’s true. This is as good as any atmosphere I ever played in.’ There’s just something different about The Black Hole.”
The last three Oakland Raiders feel a sense of obligation to the team in several regards. They are the three longest tenured players on the roster, playing de facto leadership roles in the young locker room.
They’ve also placed it upon themselves to remind their teammates how intense this rivalry is, as a hostile environment awaits them at Levi’s Stadium.
“Me, AJ and Kolton are the last three, so we have a little experience being in Oakland and kind of feeling that crowd and that energy,” Crosby said. “Oakland, there’s no city like it. You can’t describe it unless you’ve been there. I love those fans so much.”
“I definitely think it’s the responsibility of me, Maxx and Kolton to tell the story of the Raiders a little bit and to kind of bridge that gap,” Cole said. “I think the history of this organization is really special, we obviously want to make some new history … but I do think the Shield means something and the legacy of the Raiders organization is special, and it’s not like that everywhere.”