Raiders sign cornerback Duke Shelley

Mar 23, 2023 - 5:39 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders continued their torrid pace of signing bargain free agents as they added cornerback Duke Shelley, who had some nice moments for the Minnesota Vikings and started a playoff game in the 2022 season.

Shelley is the second cornerback Las Vegas has added in as many days. It signed David Long of the Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday. Like Long, Shelley has been mostly a career backup and will likely be a rotational cornerback for Las Vegas, which is still looking for the right mix at the position. Cornerback, at the moment, is a strong possibility for the Raiders with the No. 7 overall pick with Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez and Illinois’ Devin Witherspoon being possibilities.

Shelley has ties to the Raiders like many of the players they have signed this offseason. He was drafted in the sixth by the Chicago Bears in 2019 when now Las Vegas assistant general manager Champ Kelly was in the Bears’ front office.

Shelley is considered small at 5-foot-9, 176 pounds, but he made strides with the Vikings last season. He had a career high 31 tackles and eight passes defensed. The Kansas State product has 11 starts in 41 career NFL games in four seasons. He had a career high five starts last season and registered his only career interception in 2022.