Getty NFL free agent DE Melvin Ingram.
The Las Vegas Raiders had their best pass-rushing game of the season as they sacked New York Giants quarterbacks eight times in Week 9. Despite that, defensive end Maxx Crosby is still the only player with more than 2.0 sacks (9.5).
Malcolm Koonce and Tyree Wilson have combined for 2.5 sacks so far this season. The Raiders aren’t out of the playoff race but need a more consistent pass rush if they hope to make a run. Bleacher Report suggested the team should sign free agent defensive end Melvin Ingram.
“The Raiders might not be in the thick of the playoff race, but they need to field a competitive team under interim coach Antonio Pierce,” the B/R NFL Staff wrote in a November 6 column. “That’s going to be hard to do with one of the league’s least productive pass rushes. Maxx Crosby is a force, but Tyree Wilson is coming along slowly as a rookie, and the team released Chandler Jones earlier this season.
“Melvin Ingram showed he can still get after the quarterback last season when he had six sacks as a rotational player for the Miami Dolphins. The 34-year-old probably still has some juice left to improve the Raiders defense.”
Melvin Ingram Has Been Consistent Throughout Career
Melvin Ingram is a name the Raiders should be very familiar with. He spent nine years with the Chargers and spent some time with the Kansas City Chiefs back in 2021. He’s played against the Raiders 16 times in his career and has 10.5 sacks in those games.
Ingram is 34 now and could be entering the final stages of his career. However, he proved last season that he can still provide some pass rush. He had 6.0 sacks with the Miami Dolphins and was able to play in all 17 games. His body isn’t breaking down yet.
Ingram isn’t the Pro Bowl-level player he was with the Chargers but he’s been consistent and has six seasons of 6.0 or more sacks. Options are limited now that the trade deadline has passed so Ingram might be one of the best players still available who can rush the passer. It’d be worth it for the Raiders to at least bring him in for a workout.
Melvin Ingram forces the fumble on Melvin Gordon 😱 @brgridiron
Chiefs returns it 86 yards
(via @NFL)
Las Vegas Raiders Defense Gaining Swagger
The Raiders held the Giants to just six points in Week 9, which was the best performance of the season. The defense has looked much better this season than it has in the past and is 15th in the NFL in yards per game allowed (330.9).
“I feel like the defense played as a whole,” Tyree Wilson said in his postgame media availability, via Raiders.com. “A lot of people out there making plays and a lot of people were out there hungry to get the W. Our goal was to shut them out and we came pretty close.”
Now, the Giants are averaging just 11.2 points a game, which is the worst in the NFL. The team still needs to prove it can shut down a good offense. Regardless, Maxx Crosby thinks highly of what the defense can do this season.
“It was a blast. We had a lot of fun out there,” Crosby said. “You can feel it. The energy was crazy and we sustained it the whole game. I feel like this D-line group, we have something special going on.”
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Raiders Pushed to Sign 3-Time Pro Bowler With 57.0 Career Sacks