Following the passing of Cedrick Hardman, former teammates and members of the Raiders Family shared their memories of the Raiders legend.
Howie Long:
"Today, along with the rest of the Raiders Family, the Long family mourns the passing of my teammate and dear friend, Cedrick Hardman. Cedrick was my roommate my rookie year in Oakland; he was a teammate, a mentor, and someone I leaned on a great deal as a young player. I will miss my friend Cedrick "Godfather" Hardman, but his words and his friendship which shaped my career as a young player is something that I will always remember. Rest in peace, my friend."
Matt Millen:
"Cedrick was what the NFL was about. What Cedrick taught me was that you have your time, and he had had his time, but for young players, he taught us what the league was about. That's what I always appreciated about Cedrick. There's rules and then there's how the game was played. That's what Cedrick was great with. He was a great person, one of my favorites, and we stayed in touch all the way."
Cliff Branch:
"Cedrick was probably the closest friend I had as far as our former teammates. Out of a seven-day week, we would talk on five of those days. We're both from Houston, attended rival high schools and played against each other, so he was a dear friend. He was just a great person, friendly to everyone, and he loved young people. His advice to young athletes was always to be coachable. That's the kind of guy he was."
Lester Hayes:
"Cedrick Hardman was a 'Sack Savage!' Third down for him was like a designated hitter in baseball. Cedrick's sack skills were just like Greg Townsend or Howie Long…just stupendous. My success in pass defense was based on pressure. I needed pressure because we played the bump-and-run and Cedrick gave us high heat!"
