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Las Vegas Raiders Add Two Former Pro Bowl Defenders

The Las Vegas Raiders have added two former Pro Bowl players in Takkarist McKinley and Vic Beasley in their pursuit of a playoff push.
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The Las Vegas Raiders added two former Pro Bowl pass rushers to the practice squad.

The Raiders announced claiming Takkarist McKinley via waivers from the San Francisco 49ers and the signing of Vic Beasley after a workout this week.

The signing of both McKinley and Beasley comes as no surprise, as the Raiders continue to find players who will help the defense generate a pass rush.

Both players were drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in separate years and were teammates until the start of the 2020 season, as Beasley signed with the Tennessee Titans this offseason.

McKinley was drafted in the first round (26th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft after playing for UCLA for three seasons under head coach Jim Mora. He would appear in 49 games with 25 starts with the Falcons.

McKinley had requested a trade a year ago but it was not granted.

The Falcons did engage in trade talks with teams right before this year’s trade deadline, but a move was not made.

Frustration grew between the two, and McKinley would go on to social media and express his feelings after offers were made but not accepted, calling the Falcons clowns for not agreeing on the offers.

Which ultimately put pressure on Atlanta to release him after not trading him.

After his release, he was claimed by the Cincinnati Bengals, but after failing his physical, the Bengals waived him.

The Oakland native would then land with the 49ers before being claimed by the Raiders.

Another Clemson player for General Manager Mike Mayock, Beasley spent the first five years of his career in Atlanta and entered this season as a member of the Titans.

But after a late arrival to training camp and skipping COVID-19 testing, the Titans began to regret the offseason signing.

After suffering a knee injury early in the season, the Titans had enough of Beasley and decided to release him.

The Raiders worked him out and liked what they saw. He will sit on the practice squad until further notice.

In the corresponding move of signing Beasley, the Raiders have released Datone Jones off the practice squad.

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