Jon Gruden has less than 36 hours to figure out who he wants to keep around for the remainder of the season.
A couple of names that have been mentioned as likely trade candidates are Karl Joseph and Gareon Conley, but based on a report in the Athletic on Sunday, Bruce Irvin might be on the list, as well.
“[Gruden] knew his defense would be worse without Khalil Mack, but this is ridiculous,” The Atheltic’s Vic Tafur wrote on Sunday. “The Raiders are last in the league in sacks and pressures, have totally given up on Bruce Irvin and many of the free agents that Gruden and Guenther picked out have been busts.“
Further proof that the Raiders seem to be done with Irvin, who happens to be one of the team captains, is the fact that he was hardly on the field against the Colts on Sunday.
Bruce Irvin played 24 defensive snaps on Sunday vs. Indy, just 31 percent of the total Raiders defensive snap count on a day where the Silver and Black had just five quarterback pressures (1 QB hit)
— Scott Bair (@BairNBCS) October 29, 2018
The Raiders were rumored to want Irvin to take a pay cut in the offseason, but it never amounted to anything and with Mack holding out, there wasn’t any real leverage to play hardball with Irvin. Now that the Raiders season has officially gone down the drain, Irvin’s $8.25 cap hit is hardly worth the trouble, especially considering there is no way they’re bringing him back next year at 31 (with a $9.25 million cap number).
The question is, does anyone need a pass rusher so bad that they would offer draft compensation for a 30 year-old pass rusher making $8.25 million? Probably not, but not many thought the Raiders could get a first-round pick for Amari Cooper, so anything is possible. Irvin has three sacks in seven games (on limited snaps) which means he can still help a team… as long as that team is able and willing to swallow his hefty contract.
twitter: @raidersbeat
Wait a sec, I watched Jons presser yesterday, when asked about Irvin he explained Bruce has a shoulder injury, and also added due to situations, not a lot of obvious pass plays where he’d be lined up, Bruce got less snaps. I’m not at all surprised the media turns it into Raiders are done with Irvin. Fake news. Fake news. Fake news. I think the sports media watches a lot of CNN, which everyone knows is the university of Fake News.