Three teams waived Takkarist McKinley in a week’s time. The former Falcons’ edge rusher was claimed first by the Bengals, then by the 49ers, and then by the Raiders. The Bengals and 49ers waived him for failed physical, and yet the Raiders still claimed him.
McKinley has a groin injury that caused him to fail his two physicals in Cincinnati and San Francisco (or Santa Clara, as it were). Knowing this, the Raiders were still interested, just as they had been from the start, but had to wait their turn in the waiver order.
As much as the Raiders would like for the East Bay native (Richmond) to be available now, they are willing to be patient and take a chance that once the former first round pick gets back to health, he can be an asset down the stretch as they make a run at the playoffs.
The Bengals and 49ers are not in the position where they feel they can wait for McKinley to get healthy. They need him now if they are to have any hope of turning things around this season, and the odds of that are slim being that the two teams have two and three wins respectively.
Not only are the Raiders 6-4, but they have a more favorable home stretch, making their playoff chances very good. Enough so that they figure they can afford to pay McKinley to sit on the shelf for a few weeks.
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