Raiders linebacker Will Compton tackles Jaguars running back
Leonard Fournette (27) during the second half when Oakland lost its lead and
went down to defeat 20-16 at the Coliseum.
Photo: Daniel Shirey / Getty Images
One
thing linebacker Will Compton has learned in his relatively short time with the
Raiders: the beneficial properties of lavender.
Compton signed with the Raiders
on Oct. 30 and has since been living at an extended-stay hotel near the team’s
facility. At one point, he said, he noticed some bug bites. Lavender, it turns
out, is an insect repellent.
“So I’ll kind of rub myself
with lavender essential oil — put it around my bed like a vampire, just kind of
set my ritual up,” Compton said. “Knock on wood, I’ve been bug bite-free since
I’ve started that.”
Another thing Compton has learned: the
Raiders’ defensive system. On Sunday against the Jaguars, he played every
defensive snap in a 20-16 loss.
“He didn’t come off the field,” head coach Jon Gruden said Monday. “For
a guy that walked in here last month, it’s pretty incredible, really.”
Compton, 30, led the Raiders with nine tackles and wore the green-dot
helmet, designating his role relaying defensive calls to teammates. Tahir
Whitehead previously had that responsibility, taking the job after Vontaze
Burfict was suspended for the season following Week 4.
The
shuffle came after Gruden had promised changes on defense in the wake of a
42-21 loss to the Titans on Dec. 8 in which the Raiders allowed 552 total
yards. Whitehead, the Raiders’ leading tackler this season who played every
defensive snap from Weeks 5 to 14, played 34 of 57 Sunday. Linebackers Nicholas
Morrow played 22 and Marquel Lee 19.
Compton had played a total of
67 defensive snaps in his first six games with the Raiders before logging all
57 against Jacksonville.
“Last
week, they just said I was going to start getting more time on the field,”
Compton said Monday. “It kind of came out of nowhere a little bit, but you’ve
got to be ready.
“A lot of credit honestly to
Tahir, because he’s kind of been next to me and in my ear the entire time
helping me in the defense, the terminology. But yeah, man, it’s wild how it all
works.”
Undrafted in 2013 out of
Nebraska, Compton signed with and spent his first five seasons with Washington,
making 15 starts and recording a career-high 106 tackles in 2016. Four of his
five seasons there came under head coach Jay Gruden, Jon’s brother. Compton
said the two are “very similar,” but that he viewed playing for Jon as “like
checking off a bucket list” item.
“Of the coaches I’ve played
for, he’s probably been the best motivator,” Compton said.
A foot injury limited Compton
to nine games in 2017 and he signed last season with the Titans, playing in 12
games, mostly on special teams. A free agent this offseason, Compton said he
and his camp figured teams would target him for a one-year, league-minimum
deal. So he turned down a series of tryouts hoping a team would call him on the
strength of previous game video.
Compton signed Aug. 21 with the
Saints but was injured in the preseason finale and released. By Week 8, he was
still unemployed.
“I was actually coming to grips
thinking I might not get called for this year,” Compton said. “I was never
really frustrated. Stuff off the field, I was excited about other things, so it
took my mind off of it.”
In May, Compton and former Tennessee teammate Taylor Lewan launched a
podcast called “Bussin’ With the Boys.” Per its website, the podcast has a five-star rating on
Apple Podcasts and about 30 episodes with such guests as Kirk Cousins, Jalen
Ramsey, country-music artist Thomas Rhett and Olympic gold-medal gymnast Shawn
Johnson East with husband and free-agent long snapper Andrew East.
Compton said he and Lewan
figured there are few athletes “that put their stuff out there, their brand or
anything like that.” He said he also wondered if that might deter potential NFL
suitors.
“You just don’t know — you’re
out there now,” Compton said. “But it’s caught some traction and we have some
big plans for it in the future.”
In late October, Compton, still
living in Nashville, visited the Raiders for a workout and signed. He started
out playing limited snaps as a middle linebacker in the base defense but,
defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said last month, grasped the scheme
quickly. Compton said he felt “solid” wearing the green dot Sunday, having
previously done so in Washington.
“I’m very grateful for what has
kind of come into fruition,” Compton said.
Along with serving as a new
recording space for podcast intros, Compton’s living quarters have lent
themselves to him getting up to speed.
“You’re an Oakland Raider and
playing for this storied program — I joke with everybody that I’ve got to keep
myself humble staying in an extended stay,” Compton said. “But it’s been fun,
man. It’s just been a grind.”
Matt
Kawahara is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mkawahara@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @matthewkawahara