Former Raiders Punter Shane Lechler
The Oakland Raiders are slated to take on the Houston Texans in Week 11 for the first ever Monday Night Football appearance in Mexico. The Texans (6-3) and Raiders (7-2) are both off to impressive starts this season and will face each other for the 10th time. The game holds a lot of weight for both teams as they continue fighting for playoff contention.
Aside from the importance of the game, the Raiders will also battle a familiar face in the primetime bout, as they square off against a player they drafted back in the 2000 NFL Draft. Texans punter Shane Lechler suited up in the Silver and Black for 13 seasons, booting the pigskin a total of 1,014 times in 206 games with the Raiders. He is currently the NFL's leader in all-time career yards per punt (47.5).
Over the course of his tenure with the Raiders, the 17-year veteran developed a lot of relationships with members of the team and he was also a fan favorite of Raider Nation. He was also on the Raiders roster in 2001 when the team traveled to Mexico to take on the Dallas Cowboys during the preseason. Wednesday afternoon, Lechler talked with media members, via conference call, to discuss facing his former team and what it will be like to play in Mexico City again.
"I have a lot of respect for those guys and really good friendships still on that team. I'm looking forward to it," said Lechler. "They're playing really good right now, so we'll see how it goes."
An exclusive look back at some of the best moments of the first 9 weeks of the season.
Lechler was the proud punter of the Raiders squad for the majority of his career, but that job now belongs to current Raiders punter Marquette King. Undoubtedly the two players have very separate personalities, but Lechler shared his thoughts on King's progression and his impact on special teams.
"Yeah, he's doing a good job. I have a lot of respect for Marquette. He's handling it really well," he said. "He's doing a good job. He's been steady for them."
This won't be the first encounter Lechler's had with the Raiders since departing for the Texans in 2013, but he expressed that he'll still get excited for the matchup and that it should be a good game.
