Getty David Irving sacking Alex Smith.
When the Las Vegas Raiders signed David Irving to their practice squad, the intention was obviously to have him on the active roster at some point. It looks like that time is coming sooner rather than later. The team announced that Irving is being activated to the active roster for the Week 7 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Considering he’s only been with the team for less than a week after not playing for two years, it’s a little surprising that they’d promote him so quickly. He must’ve been impressive at practice thus far. Now, this doesn’t mean he’s going to stay on the active roster. He’ll likely revert back to the practice squad after the game. However, it’ll be interesting to see if he’ll have any role on the defense right now.
The Raiders also promoted cornerback Dylan Mabin. This move likely comes as a reaction to the news that Johnathan Abram won’t be able to play on Sunday and the team is really thin at safety. It’s likely that they might have to put a cornerback or two in the safety position and Mabin would come in at corner. He has yet to play in an NFL game so if he remains active, this will be his first chance.
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Raiders Offensive Line Is Good to Go
For a while this week, it looked like the Raiders could be in big trouble. Trent Brown tested positive for COVID-19 and he came into close contact with his fellow starting offensive linemen. This kept the entirety of the starting offensive line out of practice this week and there was a real chance they wouldn’t be able to play. The Raiders can breathe a big sigh of relief as all of the offensive linemen (outside of Brown) have been cleared to play, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Brown and Abram being out are big losses but the Raiders can manage without them. If the team would’ve lost their whole starting offensive line, then it would’ve been a massive problem. Fortunately, there’s been no indication that Abram has contracted the virus or that Brown is showing any symptoms. They should both be back for Week 8.
Carl Nassib Is Ready to Play
During the Week 5 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, defensive end Carl Nassib broke his toe early in the game. It seemed like he would miss some time but according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Nassib should be available this week.
That’s a pretty quick turnaround, especially when you consider that a defensive end is probably using his toes quite a bit. Nassib is proving his toughness if he can play this week. He hasn’t had as much of an impact player as the Raiders have hoped but he has a proven track record of production. It seemed that the Irving signing was meant to fill the void that Nassib was going to leave but it now it just looks like the Raiders wanted to have two massive 6-foot-7 defensive ends.
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