The Raiders announced that they signed veteran WR Duke Calhoun to the team and he has already appeared with the team by participating in the voluntary mini-camp earlier this week.

Calhoun was an undrafted free agent in 2010 but still managed to make the active roster for the Giants.  He played in 9 games, sustained an injury and was put on injured reserve.  He came to an injury settlement with the team last preseason and was released.  He did not sign on with any team last year - it's likely he was still recovering from the injury which was listed as a hamstring injury.

Per a variety of different reports, the Raiders have visited a number of prospective draftees in the weeks led up to the draft, either as part of a group workout or by bringing the prospects in to Alameda.

Here are some of the known prospects, alphabetically, and a link to more information for each:

TFDS has already done tape evaluations of Ron Bartell, Philip Wheeler and Shawtae Spencer, as part of an effort to review the talent that the Raiders have signed this offseason.

Each of the aforementioned players signed one year contracts which means that none of them may be back in 2013.  One player that will be back was the most targeted player the Raiders signed, RG Mike Brisiel.  The Raiders signed him to a 5 year, $20 million contract.

Brisiel played in 13 games in 2011 and started all 13 at RG for the Texans.  I looked at 3 different games for Brisiel from 2011 to get an idea of his strengths and weaknesses.  The three games were week 5 against the Raiders, week 6 against the Ravens and week 7 against the Titans.

The NFL announced the entire regular season schedule today.  While the Raiders 2012 opponents and which would be home or away have been known for some time, the schedule is the first chance for fans to find out the order of the games and also which games would be televised in prime time and where the bye week falls.

Here is a link to the Raiders schedule.

Of note, the Raiders opening game is the second game on a Monday Night Football Double header on ESPN on Sep 10th against San Diego at the Black Hole.

The team has their bye in week 5.  Only two teams - the Colts and the Steelers - are earlier in the season on week 4.

Every year there is much (too much) analysis about which games the teams are likely to win or lose.  This is an exercise in futility as teams change so much from year to year and injuries take their toll.

The Raiders, like every team that has aspirations of the Lombardi trophy, will need to stop worrying about the schedule and start worrying about executing regardless of the challenges in front of them.  Now that they know their first challenge, the Chargers, they can begin their quest for a 4th Super Bowl win.

For more Raiders news and analysis throughout the day, follow me on Twitter @AsherMathews

This article is the work of Tyler Dickson, an avid fan of the Raiders and college football.  For more of his thoughts on players, as we lead up to the draft, follow him on Twitter @RaiderDraftnik

You can also check out his first Raiders-only mock draft or his 3 round mock draft.

The Raiders have known their 2012 opponents for some time, now, but will find out their actual schedule when the NFL announces it later today.  The announcement is set for 7pm ET/4pm PT tonight and can be watched on ESPN, among other places.

Here is a link to see the already-announced Preseason schedule and the teams that the Raiders will play at home and away.

For more Raiders news and analysis, follow me on Twitter @AsherMathews

The Raiders announced that they re-signed Safety Matt Giordano, yesterday night.

Giordano is 29.  He played for the Raiders last season as a backup, but started 9 games at FS due to an injury to Michael Huff.

Giordano's signing is likely for depth as he struggles with coverage assignments at times.  He did lead the team with 5 interceptions last season.

He played in 15 games total last year for the Raiders, and amassed 66 total tackles and one sack along with the interceptions.

For more Raiders news and analysis, follow me on Twitter @AsherMathews