Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders added some depth to their defensive line Monday.

They announced they claimed defensive end Takkarist McKinley via waivers from the San Francisco 49ers.

McKinley was available because the 49ers waived him with a failed physical designation, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic. Barrows suggested the defensive end's groin injury is still "problematic."

Being waived is nothing new for the UCLA product.

As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted, the Cincinnati Bengals also previously claimed him off waivers and then failed him following a physical. As a result, the Atlanta Falcons, Bengals and 49ers have all waived him.

Atlanta selected McKinley with a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, and it appeared as if he were well on his way to a productive career when he appeared in all 16 games as a rookie and tallied six sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

He followed up with 7.0 sacks in his second season but had just 3.5 in 2019.

Durability was not much of a concern prior to this season considering he missed just three combined games in his first three years in the league. That is no longer the case with a lingering groin injury, but the Raiders took a flier on him with this move.

He joins a Las Vegas team that is 6-4 and in second place in the AFC West. The Raiders face McKinley's old team in the Falcons on Sunday.

The Las Vegas Raiders signed linebacker Vic Beasley to their practice squad on Monday.

The move comes just weeks after the Tennessee Titans released him following their Week 8 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, his fifth outing of the year. Beasley, who is in his sixth season in the league, signed a one-year, $9.5 million deal with the Titans in March. 

Drafted eighth overall out of Clemson by the Atlanta Falcons in 2015, Beasley started every game for Atlanta as a rookie then earned an All-Pro nod in 2016 after he led the league in sacks (15.5) and forced fumbles (6), posting 39 combined tackles and 16 quarterback hits.

After two seasons of lower production, Beasley ended his time in Atlanta on a high note last season, with a career-high 42 tackles and eight sacks, the most since he led the league in 2016. But the Falcons chose not to re-sign him, and he found his way to the Titans in free agency. 

He never seemed to find his footing in Nashville, where he got off to a tough start when he reported to training camp 10 days late, leading to a $500,000 fine and a stint on the non-football injury list. 

Though Beasley's contract doesn't put him on the active roster just yet, the Vegas defense could use a boost. The team has posted the second-fewest sacks in the league (11) and ranks 10th-worst in yards per game (385.8). 

Meanwhile, the team also claimed Takkarist McKinley off waivers.

McKinley is onto his fourth organization this month. After starting the season with the Atlanta Falcons, he was waived on Nov. 9 after he had publicly criticized the organization on social media. He was then claimed by the Cincinnati Bengals, though he never appeared in a game for the club as he failed his physical. He was subsequently waived by the Bengals and claimed by the San Francisco 49ers, who also waived him following a failed physical.

McKinley, the 26th overall pick in 2017, has 17.5 career sacks in three-plus seasons. The 25-year-old has one sack and eight tackles in four appearances this season.

The Las Vegas Raiders have activated most of the players who were on the reserve/COVID-19 list. 

Per the team's official transaction page, Johnathan Abram is among seven players activated to the 53-man roster ahead of Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Others include Maliek Collins, Johnathan Hankins, Isaiah Johnson, Arden Key and Kendal Vickers. David Irving, who has been on the practice squad/COVID-19 list, will also be activated and promoted to the main roster. 

Per ESPN's Paul Gutierrez, all of those players will be eligible to play against the Chiefs after testing negative for COVID-19 throughout the week. 

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Saturday morning that the Raiders had no new positives in their latest round of testing and the seven players activated off the list will "be good" to play if those results remain the same tomorrow. 

Safety LaMarcus Joyner, who was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list alongside Clelin Ferrell on Tuesday, was activated Friday. 

The Raiders (6-3) are hosting the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium this week. Las Vegas won the first meeting between these two teams 40-32 in Week 5 on Oct. 11.  

The Las Vegas Raiders placed seven defensive players on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Wednesday:

• S Johnathan Abram
• DT Maliek Collins
• DT Johnathan Hankins
• DL David Irving
• CB Isaiah Johnson
• DE Arden Key
• DT Kendal Vickers 

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, those players may be eligible to suit up when the team hosts the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night if they continue to test negative for the virus. 

Per ESPN's Paul Gutierrez, the Raiders moved starting defensive end Clelin Ferrell and cornerback Lamarcus Joyner to the reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday. The pair joined starting linebacker Cory Littleton, who was moved to the list last Thursday and did not play in Sunday's defeat of the Denver Broncos. 

Per Tashan Reed of The Athletic, the Raiders defense now have six starters and four backups on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Las Vegas has struggled with the coronavirus this season. The franchise was punished at the start of the month for failure in following the league's COVID-19 protocols after tackle Trent Brown tested positive for the virus in October, with the league issuing a $500,000 fine and the loss of a sixth-round pick in next year's draft, while head coach Jon Gruden was also charged $150,000.

Gruden was also fined $100,000 in September, with the franchise paying out $250,000 for "failure to follow proper face-covering protocol" (h/t NFL.com). Individual players have failed to follow the guidelines, too. Quarterback Derek Carr and tight end Darren Waller were among 10 players to be fined for failure to wear a mask at a charity event in October. 

Come Sunday, the Chiefs may not be operating at full capacity, either. The team moved three offensive linemen to the list Monday, including starting tackles in Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, though both players were determined to be "close contacts" and are not automatically ruled out of Sunday's game. Wide receiver Mecole Hardman remains on the list after being placed there last week, according to Charles Goldman of ChiefsWire. 

With the possibility that both teams may be short-handed come Sunday night, the result could play out differently than it did when they last met Oct. 11. The Raiders, playing in Kansas City, handed the 8-1 Chiefs their only loss of the season thus far in a 40-32 defeat. 

The Las Vegas Raiders have placed defensive end Clelin Ferrell and cornerback Lamarcus Joyner on the reserve/COVID-19 list, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Both players were active and played significant roles in Sunday's 37-12 win over the Denver Broncos.

Ferrell has started all nine games this season in his second year after being selected No. 4 overall in the 2019 draft. He had 4.5 sacks as a rookie but zero so far in 2020, although he has still made a significant impact on the field:

Ferrell took to Instagram to give fans an update on his status:

Joyner is in his first year with Las Vegas after signing a four-year deal in the offseason.

He has appeared in 78 percent of the team's snaps this season, per Pro Football Reference, and is among the team leaders with 46 tackles.

Las Vegas has an important divisional game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night but could be in trouble defensively if either or both are unavailable for the Week 11 matchup.

Carl Nassib and Arden Key would take on bigger roles in the pass rush if Ferrell is out, while Nevin Lawson could see more snaps at cornerback.

Meanwhile, the Raiders have had significant problems with COVID-19 this season and were previously disciplined for multiple violations of the league's protocols. The NFL stripped a sixth-round pick from the team and fined the organization $500,000.

When the Las Vegas Raiders spent a little extra time around Arrowhead Stadium following a 40-32 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, it wasn't so the team could savor that famous Kansas City-style barbecue.

Raiders head coach Jon Gruden explained Monday how a "smart aleck bus driver in Kansas City who made some snide comments" might have been to blame for Las Vegas' decision to take a victory lap around the venue:

The act of trolling may have backfired for the Raiders because it's clearly still fresh in the mind of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid as the teams prepare for Sunday's rematch.

"They won the game, so they can do anything they want to do," he told reporters. "That's not our style."

ESPN's Adam Teicher also wrote how Reid "seemed irritated" when addressing the situation.

He who laughs last, laughs best. Gruden and the Raiders had some fun at the bus driver's expense in October. They can probably expect the Chiefs to respond in kind at Allegiant Stadium if they come away victorious.