The Raiders have already traded wide receiver Amari Cooper and are open to dealing defensive backs Gareon Conley and Karl Joseph, but there’s an additional Oakland player who is also available. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the Raiders have discussed edge rusher Bruce Irvin with other clubs.
With a limited number of pass rushers available on the trade market, Irvin is a logical candidate to be dealt. However, the Raiders are struggling to find a taker for Irvin’s salary, according to Schefter. If a club acquired Irvin before Tuesday’s deadline, it would be on the hook for the rest of Irvin’s 2018 base salary, which amounts to roughly $4.2MM. Irvin is also under contract for 2019, but he can be released without financial penalty.
Irvin, 30, could potentially offer versatility to a number of clubs, as he’s played both defensive end and outside linebacker during his career. Now in his third season with the Raiders, Irvin has started six games this year while three sacks and four quarterback hits. Pro Football Focus has graded Irvin as a below-average defensive end in 2018, ranking him as a bottom-20 edge defender among 101 qualifiers.
Any number of teams could potentially use another rotational pass rusher, but teams with a true need on the edge include the Rams, Jets, Chiefs, and Lions. The Chargers could also make sense as a landing spot for Irvin given Joey Bosa‘s uncertain injury timeline, while the Bengals are now down a defensive end after Carl Lawson tore his ACL earlier today.
Doesn’t seem too likely that the Raiders and Chargers would hook up as trading partners. The Jets are the reach out and miss kings so the Lions look like the best bet.
Losing Lawson sucks, but the Bengals still have plenty of edge depth in Dunlap, Hubbard, Willis, and Johnson. Now, if they could keep their linebackers healthy…
Don’t the Colts need an edge rusher?
Irvin is a hugely overrated player. Not sure why anyone would be interested in him. He benefited from playing on those dominant Seattle defenses in which he was just a rotational guy, The Raiders, as they tend to do, overpaid him to be something he’s not – an every down defensive end.
Agreed on that. He’s a pass rush specialist. The one thing he can do he does pretty well.