Jon Gruden has decided to continue stripping the Oakland Raiders roster. Late Saturday it was reported that Bruce Irvin would be released. The former Legion of Boom member is 31 now, but he has three sacks so far this season. The Jacksonville Jaguars just traded Dante Fowler on Tuesday, and it would make sense to at least give Irvin a call. He doesn’t carry a big contract that the Jags would have to inherit so it would be a team friendly situation. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of bringing Irvin to Jacksonville.
Jacksonville Jaguars Should Call Bruce Irvin
Irvin Available Monday
Though it has been reported that Irvin is being released, he will not be available until late Monday.
Raiders told Bruce Irvin they will release him, as @VicTafur reported, but Irvin was not on today’s NFL wire, meaning he now cannot be released until 4 pm Monday. If and when he is, he then will go on waivers.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 3, 2018
It’s interesting that the Raiders front office didn’t release Irvin during the week. If they had already planned to, it would have made sense. As it stands now, there are reports he is gone, but the team has to wait until Monday at 4 pm.
Why Claiming Irvin Makes Sense
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a good defensive line. Players such as Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue, Marcell Dareus, and Malik Jackson are the nucleus. But they lost an edge rusher, Dante Fowler, due to trade this week. Of course, Fowler’s playing time was already limited this season so the move made sense. But if the team thinks they can spare a roster spot elsewhere on the team, it may be worth it to add the veteran who still has some life in him.
Irvin has three sacks so far this season. It also seems the Raiders were planning to get rid of Irvin, as his snaps have decreased in recent weeks. The Jaguars have some younger defensive lineman in Dawuane Smoot and Taven Bryan. But Smoot is injured and Bryan, though a rookie, seems to be more suited to the interior of the line. Irvin’s contract will mainly be absorbed by Oakland, but it would be better for the Jaguars to wait until after he clears waivers if they do want to pursue him.
Why the Move Doesn’t Make Sense
There are also reasons that pursuing Bruce Irvin doesn’t make sense. Chief among them is the fact that Irvin is 31 years old, and the Jaguars currently sit at 3-5. If the team were in a better spot to make the playoffs, the move would make more sense. But to add an aging veteran such as Irvin in a year the team likely will miss the playoffs, could prove to be a waste of a roster spot.
The Jaguars just added quarterback Landry Jones as injury insurance this week. This means the team would have to cut someone on the team to make room for Irvin. Rashad Greene would perhaps be a cut candidate, but with the receivers struggling that isn’t likely.
The Last Word
Bruce Irvin is worth taking a chance on if the Jacksonville Jaguars front office thinks they can still make the playoffs. But with Irvin’s age, a long term deal is out of the question. The team will have to be near perfect in order to make the playoffs at this point. If they think Irvin can provide enough help to keep “Sacksonville” going, then it’s a move they should make.
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