The Raiders exchanged edge defenders on their active roster in advance of their Week 16 game against the Colts, activating Mario Edwards and placing Shilique Calhoun on IR, Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com tweets.
Edwards appears ready at long last to make his 2016 debut after an arduous road back from a preseason hip injury initially thought to be closer to minor in nature than a four-month-negating malady. The second-year defensive end played in the Raiders’ first preseason game but has not seen regular-season time since Week 15 of the 2015 season.
Oakland carried Edwards on its IR list all season, seeing Edwards return to practice earlier this month, and will potentially receive a boost for a 30th-ranked defense.
An edge player in Oakland’s 4-3 but an interior presence on passing downs, the former second-round pick graded as a top-10 run-stopper, per Pro Football Focus, last season among edge defenders. But he’s been a non-factor for more than a year due to this slow-progressing hip ailment and the neck injury from last December that caused him to miss several months. Edwards wasn’t cleared until May to participate in Raiders OTAs.
Edwards registered 41 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble as a rookie and figures to, if able to contribute on a part-time basis in all likelihood, factor into the Raiders’ defensive line mix. Denico Autry, Stacy McGee and Jihad Ward have done the bulk of the work in this role opposite Khalil Mack. With Mack and Bruce Irvin being the edge players on passing downs, it’s been on the aforementioned trio to rush from the inside — something Edwards did fairly effectively last season.
A third-round rookie, Calhoun played in 10 games for the Silver and Black this season but did not contribute much statistically, registering five tackles and a pass deflection as a reserve pass-rusher.