Report: New England Patriots In The Mix For Oakland Raiders’ Pass Rusher

The Oakland Raiders released pass rusher Bruce Irvin on Saturday after their Thursday Night loss. The team lost to the San Francisco 49ers, and the game was more than terrible.

Many teams decided to let go their veterans before the NFL trade deadline in order to give them a chance to pick another landing spot. The Oakland Raiders released the pass rusher after the trade deadline for a good reason. Before the NFL trade deadline, a vested veteran with four years or more of experience becomes an immediate street free agent. After the trade deadline, vested veterans usually join the rest of the younger players on the waiver wire.

Latest reports confirm that the Oakland Raiders are not actually eating any “dead money” on Irvin’s deal. Regardless of whether he will be claimed or not, the remaining part of his deal falls off the books. Irvin has a little over $3 million in this year and $9.25 million in 2019. However, there is another caveat here, and this is probably the thing Irvin’s team did. Irvin was part of the opening roster his base salary is fully guaranteed. The Raiders would be on the hook form those $3 million unless he is claimed off waivers.

Irvin is more than lucky because it is unlikely to happen. Playoff contenders will probably try to get him on a veteran minimum deal while the Oakland Raiders pay out the rest of his money.

CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora confirmed that Irvin will not be claimed off waivers. He added that the New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks are expected to show interested in Irvin once he becomes a free agent on Tuesday.

These teams need pass rushing help. The Falcons have 14 sacks this season and six of those come from Takkarist McKinley. They have many injured players in the defensive line and their pass rush is healthy.

The Patriots also need such figure in the roster. Two of their linebackers are placed on injured reserve and four others are added to the injury report.