The moment former Cowboys defensive lineman David Irving was reinstated by the NFL from a long suspension, the Raiders brought him in. They liked what they saw and added him to their practice squad, but the pass rusher has yet to see the field.
There’s no question the Raiders have needed what he may be able to provide in terms of pass rush. Irving put up 11.0 sacks in his last 13 NFL games. The problem is his last NFL game was in 2018. And it’s not easy to be out of football that long and just jump back into it.
“David [Irving] has been in and out. He’s had a couple of things that we’re getting squared away medically,” Jon Gruden said Friday. “He’s going to be fine. We like where he is, getting acclimated to pro football. He’s still, I believe, a couple weeks off from making his debut, but we’re happy to have him here.”
Meanwhile, it’s veteran Chris Smith who has been called up from the practice squad to the active roster a couple times this season, and made good on his limited time, putting up a sack and two QB hits in just 30 snaps.
“Chris Smith, when he plays, he plays pretty good,” Gruden continued. “We’re asking him to do a lot considering he’s a defensive end but he’s played inside some. But we like Chris and obviously, we’re encouraged by David and the progress that he’s making.”
Smith is not well known for putting up great sack numbers. He has just 9.5 sacks in his seventh NFL season and his sack in week five was just his second in three seasons. But with the lack of pass rush the Raiders are getting overall, every little bit helps.
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