Raiders on the edge: Takk McKinley, Vic Beasley will wait their turn to supply pass rush

The Raiders are playing wait and see with recent edge rusher acquisitions Takk McKinley and Vic Beasley.

Anyone who had hopes of Raiders newcomers Takk McKinley and Vic Beasley screaming off the edge to pressure former Falcons teammate Matt Ryan got a dose of reality Friday from coach Jon Gruden.

McKinley, the former first-round draft pick out of UCLA by way of Richmond’s Kennedy High, won’t be making the trip to Atlanta and has been placed on injured reserve.

Beasley, also a former first-round pick who was released by the Tennessee Titans earlier this month, will likely remain on the practice squad when the Raiders (6-4) visit the Falcons (3-7).

Reclamation projects rarely pay immediate dividends.

Both players were draft selections by the Falcons, Beasley No. 8 overall in 2015 and McKinley No. 26 in 2017.

They arrive hopeful of re-igniting careers which have fallen on hard times. Since the Raiders are ranked 31st in the NFL in sacks with 11, ahead of only the Jacksonville Jaguars, they were only too happy to supply jumper cables.

McKinley got farther with the Raiders than he did with either the Cincinnati Bengals or the 49ers. He was originally waived by the Falcons on Nov. 9 at his request, but failed his physical in Cincinnati because of a groin injury. The 49ers got the next shot based on win-loss record, and they too put him back on waivers.

The Raiders were next, and determined they could put him on the IR to heal and get something out of him before the end of the season.

“Takk McKinley will not be on the trip this week, but he is a big part of our plans for the future,” Gruden said Friday during a teleconference. “I just don’t know how far in the immediate future that is.”

McKinley (6-foot-2, 256 pounds) is only under contract through the rest of the season, and will receive just under $656,000 for six games. He last played on Oct. 25, getting 23 snaps against the Detroit Lions, so he has already had over a month to heal.

In 49 games with the Falcons, McKinley had 25 starts and 17 1/2 sacks. He had 13 sacks in his first two seasons, and 4 1/2 sacks in 18 games over the past two years.

Gruden said both players were part of a long-standing Raiders tradition of giving players second chances and those opportunities arise through first impressions.

“We’ve always looked at what we thought of these players coming out (of college) to bring them here as soon as possible,” Gruden said. “When McKinley came out of UCLA, when Vic came out of Clemson, I know I liked them both. I know Mike Mayock liked them both.”

Mayock, the Raiders general manager and former NFL.com analyst, rated McKinley the No. 5 edge player in the draft after Myles Garrett of Texas A&M, Solomon Thomas of Stanford, Charles Harris of Missouri and Derek Barnett of Tennessee. In other interviews, Mayock also thought highly of T.J. Watt of Wisconsin.

It’s a measure of how tricky it is to assess draft talent that only two of that group — Garrett at No. 1 to Cleveland and Watt at No. 30 to Pittsburgh — have ascended to an elite level.

Beasley had a huge second season with the Falcons, racking up 15 1/2 sacks for a team that went to the Super Bowl. In 51 games since 2016, Beasley had 15 sacks in 51 games.

Tennessee signed Beasley to a one-year, $9.5 million as a free agent, but he reported to camp 10 days late with an unexcused absence and never made an impact with three tackles and a forced fumble in 118 snaps.

“I don’t want to say that Vic is going to be ready to go this week, but we’re going to keep looking at him,” Gruden said. “We’re going to try to teach him our defense and bring him up to speed hopefully he can make a contribution soon.

Given that the Raiders are only on the hook for $72,000 at a practice squad rate (a promotion would get his salary increased the the league minimum), Beasley is clearly in a “prove it” mode.

Defensive end Maxx Crosby has six of the Raiders’ 11 sacks, with Carl Nassib, signed as a free agent in the offseason, second with 1 1/2.

Trent Brown timetable

The Raiders have been careful regarding right tackle Trent Brown, who is in his second stint on the COVID-19 reserve list with complications from his bout with the coronavirus.

While Brown still remains on that list, along with nickel corner Lamarcus Joyner and practice squad running back Theo Riddick, he should coming off soon.

“I think the first thing is his state of mind is excellent,” Gruden said. “He’s passed all his tests. He’s going to resume practice on Wednesday. Hopefully we’ll get him back in the lineup shortly after that. The No. 1 thing right now is his health, and it’s a serious matter, obviously. We’ve done everything possible to make sure all systems are go and are anxious to get Trent back on the grass.”

ETCETERA

— Defensive end Clelin Ferrell came off the COVID-19 list and was on the field for the first time, but was listed as questionable to face the Falcons. Gruden said a determination would likely be made on the charter flight. The only other person with an injury designation was safety Erik Harris, who is questionable with a calf injury.

Defensive end/tackle Chris Smith is in the mix to play up front, Gruden said.

That means running back Jalen Richard, who missed the Chiefs game with a chest injury sustained on a kickoff return against Denver, should be good to go. Cornerback Amik Robertson, who missed two days of practice with an illness, was limited and also should be available.

— Gruden declined to specify the role of Cory Littleton, who is off the COVID-19 reserve list and available to face Atlanta. Linebacker Nicholas Morrow had the best game of his career against Denver in place of Littleton.

“We’re going to play all our linebackers,” Gruden said. “We’re going to play a lot of people on defense. We’re still looking for the right combination on all three levels and that’s a big part of the process here this week.”

— The Atlanta game is the first of back-to-back East Coast swings, with the New York Jets up next at the Meadowlands in Week 13. The coronavirus pandemic has altered the Raiders’ original travel plans.

“When we initially made the schedule, we were going to stay on the East Coast and reduce the flight time, but obviously given these circumstances we have to do what’s right,” Gruden said. “We’re going to do what the protocols advise us to do.”