Anthony Cioffi Signs Free Agent Deal With Oakland Raiders

Anthony Cioffi was the model of hard work and continual improvement, and now he will try to take his game to the next level for the Oakland Raiders.

Cioffi signed Saturday following the conclusion of the 2017 NFL draft as a priority free agent. The seniors stock rose throughout the off season during his training with Chip Smith Performance Systems and his showing at Rutgers pro-day. When I spoke with Anthony one of his goals was to showcase his versatility:

“I want to show off that I am a very versatile player, I get in and out of my breaks fast, and have fast hips. Also show I have good hands so I just want to show them that I am the complete package because I can do anything from special teams, if you need me to go on offense I’ll go on offense, defense; its just something where I want to show them that I can do it all.”

Cioffi the 5-foot-11, 205 pound speedster did just that playing on both sides of the ball during Rutgers pro-day. Additionally he registered 4.50 seconds in the 40 yard dash, 4.22 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle, 6.90 seconds in the 3-cone drill, and 11.40 seconds in the 60-yard shuttle.

Sports Illustrated named Cioffi one of the “50 NFL Draft Prospects You Need to Know”:

41. The Lone Scarlet Knight: Anthony Cioffi, DB, Rutgers

It’s really not a good year for Rutgers prospects, and Cioffi might be the school’s best bet. The defensive back did a little bit of everything in the secondary (eight interceptions, three forced fumbles, 2.5 sacks) but most impressively started 47 of 48 games over four years. He’s a high-effort player, but likely needs to work up from undrafted free agent.

Several other former Rutgers players signed free agent deals after the NFL draft concluded Saturday night. Here is a running tally:

Carlton Agudosi

Andre Patton

Chris Muller

Derrick Nelson

It was tweeted out by Rutgers Football that Nelson was signed by the Baltimore Ravens. However, it was deleted and Nelson tweeted the update below:

Hopefully, Nelson does land somewhere.

Update: Nelson was invited to a rookie tryout, but has not been signed as a free agent.

Paul James

Congratulations to all the Scarlet Knights who signed free agent deals and best of luck as they continue to pursue their NFL dreams!