The Raiders have signed pass rusher IK Enemkpali to a one-year deal, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
The addition of Enemkpali comes just a few days after renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews gave the 26-year-old a clean bill of health from the torn ACL he suffered last summer. Enemkpali was then a member of the Bills, with whom he appeared in 11 games in 2015 and didn’t make much of a dent on the stat sheet, only registering 13 tackles. He picked up three tackles in six games the year before with the Jets.
Enemkpali’s claim to fame isn’t on-field production, of course, but an off-field dust-up with ex-Jets quarterback Geno Smith. The defensive end broke Smith’s jaw with a punch prior to the 2015 season, which led to a four-game suspension for Enemkpali and his ouster from the Jets. Meanwhile, Smith missed a significant portion of time that year.
Although Enemkpali’s a household name for the wrong reasons, the 2014 sixth-round pick will nonetheless get another opportunity with the Raiders, adding to their DE options behind Khalil Mack and Mario Edwards Jr. One of the Raiders’ top ends, Jihad Ward, is on the active/physically unable to perform list with a foot issue, so they could use the depth.