The Raiders have plenty of holes in their linebacker corps, and the expectation is that they will turn to both free agency and the draft to fill those holes. Las Vegas is already starting on the free agency route, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports that the club will meet with veteran LB Christian Kirksey today (Twitter link).
Kirksey, 27, was released by the Browns just yesterday. We subsequently heard that he had three visits lined up, but we did not know the details of those visits. Now, we know that the Raiders are the first stop on his tour.
Kirksey played in 73 games and started 54 times over the course of six years in Cleveland. After his first four years of perfect attendance, the injury bug derailed him a bit. In 2018, he was held back by a hamstring injury, and last year, a torn pectoral muscle shut him down after just two games.
In addition to the injury issues, the 2014 third-rounder’s performance started to suffer not long after he signed a four-year, $38MM extension in May 2017. He finished the 2016 season with a whopping 148 tackles and was Pro Football Focus’ 22nd-best LB, but prior to being shut down in 2018, he graded out as one of the league’s ten worst ‘backers.
Still, he is not too far removed from high-end production, and his fit in Las Vegas is obvious. The Raiders released Tahir Whitehead on Monday, and recent reports have indicated that Marquel Lee is likely the only linebacker who will return next season.