When the Oakland Raiders signed Stanford Routt to a three-year, $31.5 million contract in late February many believed it signaled the end of Nnamdi Asomugha’s time in Silver and Black.
At the same time it signaled the beginning of Routt’s reign as an elite corner in the NFL. Those numbers justify such a title.
There are some who would relish the spotlight as their predecessor exits stage right. That’s not the case for Routt.
The 27-year-old wants Nnamdi Asomugha to stay with the Raiders. In fact, he’s still holding out hope the Pro Bowl corner will remain his teammate. He refuses to believe Asomugha is not a Raider until he sees the proof.
But even if Asomugha departs, his legacy will live on. Routt has been a student under Asomugha since he was selected in the second-round of the 2005 draft.
“In the scheme we play, it really is more mental than anything,” Routt told Doug Farrar of Yahoo! Sports. “When you go out there on Sundays … I remember one of my college coaches telling me, ‘Get to your technique quicker than your opponent.’ That’s where Nnamdi’s success comes from; he’s always the most prepared man on the field. He didn’t teach me how to run a 40, but that’s about the only thing he didn’t teach me. The main thing I learned from him is that when you step out on that field, everybody has their own ways of doing things, but you have to have confidence. If you don’t believe that you can go out there and get it done, you’ve already lost before you even start.”
