Raiders Add Another Heavy Hitter : NFL: They sign former 49er and USC great Ronnie Lott, a Plan B free agent, planning to match him at safety with hard-tackling Eddie Anderson.

Seeing as how 48-point title-game losses tend to get your attention, the Raiders took a deep breath and perhaps a giant step forward Monday when they signed free agent safety Ronnie Lott, who gave the San Francisco 49ers the best years of his life and, more courageously, the tip of his left pinky.

Lott was the heart of the 49er secondary for 10 seasons, during which time he was named to the Pro Bowl nine times while helping his team to four Super Bowl championships. But he was left unprotected as a Plan B free agent because of his age, 31, two aching knees that forced him to miss the last four regular-season games of 1990, and a toll-taking decade of ferocious hits.

Lott was actually willing to return to his former team at a reduced salary, an incongruous thought for a future Hall of Famer, but San Francisco was not willing to commit to Lott beyond next season.

So, up stepped the Raiders, with their commitment to you know what, who pried Lott away from the 49ers and the competing Minnesota Vikings with the promise of a two-year deal reportedly worth about $2.2 million.

The money isn’t guaranteed, but neither is Lott, who arrives in Los Angeles carrying either the key to paradise or some considerable baggage.

What about those sore knees? “The knees are feeling fine,” Lott said.

To prove it, Lott elected to play in last month’s Pro Bowl when rest seemed the more sensible option. The 49ers exposed him to Plan B two days earlier, so Lott was looking for a tryout.

“I think that was the main reason I had to play in the Pro Bowl,” Lott said. “I think a lot of people at that time had some disbeliefs that my knees were less than 100%. But I think by the hit I made in the Pro Bowl, things I did in the game, I wanted to show people I could still play this game.”

The Raiders, of course, have honed a reputation for squeezing fruitful seasons from the discards of others. They used Plan B in 1988 to rescue nose tackle Bob Golic from Cleveland, then returned to the market last year and lured all-pro guard Max Montoya away from his Mexican restaurant and the Bengals in Cincinnati. Both moves proved instrumental in raising the team from a mid-decade malaise.

Lott is already talking about playing beyond the length of his contract.

“You never know,” he said. “I’m going to play for as long as I can. I learned from a guy like (linebacker Jack) Hacksaw Reynolds. That was a guy that crawled off the field.”

Lott is another calculated gamble. If he’s anywhere near the player he once was, this is grand larceny that doesn’t require the Raiders to relinquish players or draft picks. If he’s through, the Raiders are looking at a marquee mistake the magnitude of the Rams and Curt Warner.

The Raiders aren’t claiming to have the Lott of yesteryear.

“You can’t do the things you did at 20 years old when you’re 30,” Coach Art Shell said. “I don’t know how much speed he’s lost. I don’t see as much speed lost as a lot of other people are saying.”

The Raiders are, however, planning to move Lott from free to strong safety, which will afford him less open-field roaming and more hitting. When it comes to positions, Lott has always been accommodating, having made the Pro Bowl as a cornerback and free safety in his career.

Paired with Eddie Anderson in the secondary, he will be daring opposing receivers to run routes over the middle.

Shell coached the AFC squad in the Pro Bowl and made an up-close inspection of Lott.

“We came away satisfied that his knees were not a big problem, that he could still play the game, and still help the team,” he said.

Lott does not leave the 49ers without misgivings or memories.

“It was a difficult decision because you don’t play the game for money,” he said. “It’s difficult when you have relationships you’ve created with coaching staff, and relationships created with players.”

Lott had dinner last Thursday night with San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana. Montana told Lott to do what’s best for him.

Lott said he understands the 49ers’ reasons for leaving him unprotected.

“I think they did the right thing,” he said. “By no means was I surprised by their moves or upset by their moves. They’ve been a first-class organization, and will continue to be a first-class organization.”

Lott is the 49er franchise record-holder for interceptions with 51, interception return yardage, 643, and interceptions returned for touchdown, five.

The 49ers couldn’t have asked more from Lott, who sacrificed plenty for the team, including body parts. In 1985, Lott severely cut the tip of his left pinky. Rather than have surgery and miss the rest of the season, Lott ordered that the tip be lopped off at the first knuckle, a badge of honor that will wear well with the Raiders.

The Raider image and Lott, in fact, fit like a glove. He grew up in Rialto, later starring at USC, where he emulated the hard-hitting tactics of Raider safeties Jack Tatum and George Atkinson. The comparison was never lost on Raider die-hards in Oakland.

“I can’t tell you how many times people have said, ‘I can’t believe you’re in a Niner uniform,’ ” Lott said. “They’d say ‘You’re a Raider player, the way you play the game, the way you approach the game.’ So that speaks for itself. The way I play the game is the way we’ve seen many great safeties play the game here. I’m going to continue to play the game that way.”

Raider Notes

Ronnie Lott’s signing seems to push starting strong safety Mike Harden out of the picture. “It doesn’t mean something’s going to happen to Mike Harden or Eddie Anderson,” Coach Art Shell said. “Ronnie Lott is a great player. If Joe Montana is out there, you go after him too.” Harden is a Plan B free agent.

With Bo Jackson’s career in doubt, the Raiders are hoping that tailback Greg Bell will return next season. The Raiders left Bell unprotected on Plan B, and he has been entertaining offers from San Francisco and Minnesota. Bell wants to return to the Raiders, but is reportedly leaving his options open amid speculation that the Raiders may be wooing 49er tailback Roger Craig, also a Plan B free agent.