After their Week 11 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Las Vegas Raiders announced some roster moves on Monday, including claiming defensive end Takkarist McKinley off waivers and signing linebacker Vic Beasley to the practice squad while releasing defensive end Datone Jones.
McKinley has made his rounds across the league in recent weeks after the former first-round pick was waived by the Atlanta Falcons. He was claimed by both the Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers although both wound up letting him go after failed physicals.
Jon Gruden has never been afraid of a reclamation project though and now the Raiders will finally get the chance to bring him into their building after claiming him for a third time.
In 49 games (25 starts) for the Falcons, McKinley had 79 tackles (50 solo), 17.5 sacks, two passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He had eight total tackles and a sack in four games for them this season before being waived.
Beasley will be another reclamation project for Gruden and the Raiders on the practice squad after he was cut by the Tennesee Titans. Beasley is a former teammate of McKinley’s in Atlanta where he was a Pro Bowler and All-Pro in 2016.
He signed a one-year deal with the Titans this past offseason but it didn’t work out as planned, leading to his release. In five games for the Titans, Beasley had just three tackles and a forced fumble.
It’s no secret that the Raiders have lacked a consistent pass rush essentially for the last decade, including this year, so the hope is that bringing in some veterans that have had past success like McKinley and Beasley will provide a boost to that unit for the stretch run of this season.
