Raiders To Sign DL David Irving
David Irving is indeed headed to Las Vegas. The Raiders are signing the recently reinstated defensive lineman, a source told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
This came together pretty quickly, so it wouldn’t be surprising if there had been some communication between these sides for a while as Irving waited for the go-ahead from the league office. The reinstatement from Roger Goodell came on October 16th, and on the 17th we heard the Raiders were hosting him on a visit. Irving’s young career has already seen him suspended four times, thrice for substance abuse policy violations and once for PEDs.
His most recent ban was an indefinite one that ended up lasting over 18 months. An UDFA out of Iowa State in 2015, Irving has only appeared in two games since the 2017 season, but he showed plenty of flashes early on with the Cowboys. In only eight games with Dallas in 2017, he racked up seven sacks and six passes defended.
After hist most recent suspension Irving originally announced he was retiring in March of 2019, in part due to the league’s marijuana policy. After sitting out last season he had a change of heart, and announced back in February that he was hoping for a return. It took about eight months for him to get approval from Goodell, and now he’ll join a Raiders team looking to make a push in the AFC.
Raiders defensive line coach Rod Marinelli was Irving’s defensive coordinator in Dallas, which helps explain the connection. It’s anyone’s guess as to what Irving will look like or how soon he’ll be in game shape, but it’s a nice low-risk flyer for a team in need of pass-rushing help.
Raiders Place CB Damon Arnette On Reserve/COVID-19 List
Hopefully this isn’t the start of something significant in Las Vegas. The Raiders have placed cornerback Damon Arnette on the reserve/COVID-19 list, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).
The new rules dictate that a player doesn’t need to have tested positive to be placed on the list, so this doesn’t mean Arnette is COVID positive. He could also have come in close proximity to someone who tested positive, but we don’t know as of right now. The first-round rookie has already been on injured reserve since October 3rd with a thumb issue.
Arnette is expected to be sidelined at least a few more weeks with the thumb injury anyway, so this most likely won’t effect his return to the field. A couple of weeks ago Raiders defensive tackle Maurice Hurst was placed on the list as well.
Arnette, the 19th overall pick of April’s draft, had started all three games before going down. Here’s to hoping this is an isolated incident and not a sign of things to come within the Raiders’ building.
2020 NFL Cap Space, By Team
As shown by Le’Veon Bell‘s recent deal with the Chiefs, big name free agents can come available at any point throughout the season. His contract wasn’t particularly pricey, but teams like to keep cash on hand during the year, especially when mulling potential trades before the deadline. Excess cap room can also be rolled over from year-to-year and give clubs the opportunity to lock up their most valuable players with extensions.
Here are the most recent figures for each team, via Over The Cap:
- Cleveland Browns – $33.1MM
- New York Jets – $27.9MM
- Dallas Cowboys — $23.9MM
- Washington Football Team – $23.6MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars– $22.9MM
- New England Patriots – $22.9MM
- Denver Broncos – $19.7MM
- Detroit Lions – $17MM
- Philadelphia Eagles– $18MM
- Miami Dolphins – $15.8MM
- Indianapolis Colts – $10.4MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers – $9.6MM
- Cincinnati Bengals– $9MM
- Baltimore Ravens – $9MM
- Arizona Cardinals– $8.9MM
- Chicago Bears – $8.4MM
- Tennessee Titans – $8.3MM
- Houston Texans – $8.1MM
- Los Angeles Chargers — $8MM
- New Orleans Saints – $8MM
- Green Bay Packers – $7.7MM
- New York Giants – $7.2MM
- Los Angeles Rams – $7MM
- Las Vegas Raiders – $6.3MM
- Carolina Panthers – $6.2MM
- Kansas City Chiefs – $5.8MM
- Buffalo Bills – $5MM
- San Francisco 49ers – $4MM
- Seattle Seahawks – $4MM
- Atlanta Falcons – $2MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $1.4MM
- Minnesota Vikings – $158K
Raiders Hosting DL David Irving On Visit
A day after the NFL conditionally reinstated defensive lineman David Irving, he booked a visit. The Raiders are hosting the former Cowboys pass rusher, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
The conditional reinstatement — after an 18-plus-month suspension — allows Irving to make free agent visits. He is not yet eligible to play, however. Still, the Raiders will take a look at the once-productive Cowboys D-lineman.
Irving has been suspended four times over the course of his four-year career. Substance-abuse policy violations resulted in three of those bans; a positive PED test triggered the other penalty. After a stay on the Chiefs’ practice squad, Irving played four seasons with the Cowboys. His most recent season (2018) included just two games and ended with an injury and a leave of absence.
Prior to Irving’s March 2019 suspension, the Cowboys were not planning to re-sign him. Irving said shortly after he was done with football, but he has worked his way back to conditional reinstatement.
The Raiders hired former Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli this offseason. Marinelli works as Las Vegas’ defensive line coach. He coached Irving in each of the pass rusher’s four seasons in Dallas. Irving mostly operated as a depth player in Dallas, with suspensions preventing him from being a steady performer. That said, he did register seven sacks in eight regular-season games (all starts) for the 2017 Cowboys. Irving, 27, has flashed as both an interior and edge rusher and may be set to receive another opportunity soon.
Carl Nassib Suffers Broken Big Toe
- The Raiders are also going to be without a rotational defender for a bit. Carl Nassib suffered a broken toe during the team’s win over the Chiefs, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). It is, in fact, a big toe injury. The former Browns and Buccaneers pass rusher will likely be out a while, though a concrete timetable does not exist yet. An offseason addition, Nassib has played just more than a fourth of Las Vegas’ defensive snaps this season.
Texans Sign Kyle Emanuel Off Raiders’ Practice Squad
Kyle Emanuel‘s NFL comeback is taking another step in the right direction. The Texans have signed the veteran linebacker off the Raiders’ practice squad, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
A fifth-round pick of the Chargers back in 2015, Emanuel quickly became a starter. From 2016-18 he started 29 games, but at the conclusion of his rookie contract he surprisingly opted to retire despite reportedly having multiple contract offers on the table. After sitting out the 2019 season, he announced his intention to return to the league back in March.
Obviously COVID-19 threw a bit of a wrench into his plans, and he ended up having to wait until late August to sign with Las Vegas. He was elevated to the active roster for Week 3 but has mostly been on Jon Gruden’s practice squad until now. 29 now, Emanuel will hope to revamp his career with a struggling Houston defense.
2021 NFL Draft Order
With most of Week 5 in the books, we bring you a way-too-early look at the current order for the 2021 NFL draft. For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2020 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. After that, the same goes for the six clubs eliminated from each round of the postseason, with the final two picks determined by the outcome of the Super Bowl.
Here’s where things stand in the race to the bottom:
- New York Giants (0-5)
- Atlanta Falcons (0-5)
- New York Jets (0-5)
- Washington Football Team (1-4)
- Minnesota Vikings (1-4)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4)
- Miami Dolphins (via Houston Texans, 1-4)
- Los Angeles Chargers (1-3)
- Detroit Lions (1-3)
- Denver Broncos (1-3)
- Philadelphia Eagles (1-3-1)
- Cincinnati Bengals (1-3-1)
- Miami Dolphins (2-3)
- San Francisco 49ers (2-3)
- New Orleans Saints (2-2)
- New England Patriots (2-2)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-2)
- Indianapolis Colts (3-2)
- Dallas Cowboys (2-3)
- Carolina Panthers (3-2)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2)
- Las Vegas Raiders (3-2)
- Kansas City Chiefs (4-1)
- Cleveland Browns (4-1)
- Chicago Bears (4-1)
- Baltimore Ravens (4-1)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (via Los Angeles Rams, 4-1)
- Tennessee Titans (3-0)
- Green Bay Packers (4-0)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (4-0)
- Buffalo Bills (4-0)
- New York Jets (via Seattle Seahawks, 4-0)
Raiders To Host LB Mychal Kendricks
The Raiders are circling back to Mychal Kendricks. After discussing a deal with the veteran linebacker this summer, the team will bring him in for a visit, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
This follows the Seahawks’ meeting with their former starter, which took place earlier this week. Kendricks has been a free agent since March, being unattached while rehabbing an ACL tear. Medically cleared in July, Kendricks receiving renewed interest from teams points to the linebacker being at or close to 100%.
Kendricks spent the past two seasons with the Seahawks and played extensively alongside Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright, with the team using its base defense frequently. Kendricks recovered from an injury that ended his 2018 season, starting 14 games last season. The ACL tear in Week 17 shut him down again, however.
The former six-year Eagles starter has 91 career starts’ worth of experience. Despite being a career off-ball linebacker, Kendricks has 19 sacks. He served as a three-down player for Philadelphia’s 2017 Super Bowl championship team. While the insider trading charge ended Kendricks’ Cleveland stay, sentencing has been delayed several times in that case. With no news on that front in months, it appears the 30-year-old defender will be free to play a ninth season if signed.
Kendricks would need to navigate the NFL’s increased COVID-19 protocols to sign with the Raiders; these new barriers may make it difficult for him to be available by Week 6. The Raiders already spent this offseason to bolster their linebacking corps, signing Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski to free agent deals.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/10/20
Here is the latest barrage of Saturday minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: TE Evan Baylis, S Curtis Riley
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted: DB Tyler Hall, LB Edmond Robinson
Chicago Bears
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: T Badara Traore
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: DT Kahlil McKenzie, CB Torry McTyer
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: DT Joey Ivie, DE Cameron Malveaux
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: T Jake Rodgers
- Placed on IR: RB LeVante Bellamy
Houston Texans
- Promoted: LB Nate Hall, S Jonathan Owens
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted: G Jake Eldrenkamp, WR Marcus Johnson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: DL Caraun Reid, LB Quincy Williams, S Jarrod Wilson
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted: DE Datone Jones, DE Chris Smith
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: DT Eric Banks
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted: DE Tyshun Render
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: DE Eddie Yarbrough
Philadelphia Eagles
- Activated from IR: CB Craig James, WR Quez Watkins
- Promoted: DB Grayland Arnold, TE Jason Croom, DB Elijah Riley
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: FB Trey Edmunds
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: CB Brian Allen, CB Jamar Taylor, WR Kevin White
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: S Damarious Randall
Tennessee Titans
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Greg Mabin
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: TE Temarrick Hemingway
New COVID-19 Positive Test For Titans
On Thursday morning, the Titans received word of yet another positive test, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. Meanwhile, a separate “inconclusive” positive from Wednesday been re-tested and found to be a confirmed positive.
[RELATED: NFL Won’t Pause 2020 Season]
The Titans are currently scheduled to play the Bills on Sunday, but that game is very much in flux. This comes one week after the Titans’ outbreak forced the NFL to postpone their game against the Steelers. Since September 24, the Titans (players and personnel) have received 23 positive test results in total.
In addition to the obvious health concerns, the league is also looking at a logistical quagmire. Some have speculated that the regular season will extend to a newly formed Week 18. Others have wondered if the NFL will put the entire season on pause, though that option is not on the table at this time. And, as of this writing, the league is not considering a “bubble” scenario with players confined to team hotels.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs and Raiders received no positive tests in their latest round, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). There was concern in Kansas City after the Chiefs came in close contact with Stephon Gilmore, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year who was found to have had COVID-19 earlier this week. The Raiders also placed a player on the Reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this week, but, at this time, the virus does not appear to have spread throughout the locker room.