Potential November addition of Bruce Irvin would be very much in character for Patriots

The NFL trade deadline is yesterday’s news, but team building never stops. That’s one of the reasons to think the idea of potentially adding Bruce Irvin to the Patriots’ roster isn’t completely far-fetched.


There are many steps that have to play out over the next few days, but when it comes to acquiring someone like Irvin — who was just let go by the Raiders, and will hit the waiver wire Monday — it’s important to note that this has happened before. Players in Irvin’s situation have to go through waivers, and because of its record, New England is near the back of the pack in the claiming process. But in previous years, the Pats were able to add tight end Martellus Bennett, defensive end James Harrison and wide receiver Michael Floyd as similar late-season pickups who slipped through waivers and landed in Foxborough.

On the surface, the 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end/linebacker Irvin would appear to fill a nice role, not unlike what Harrison was able to give them late last year —veteran pass rusher. Harrison was a force in the postseason, giving the pass rush a spark and providing depth at a key spot heading into the playoffs. Irvin has three sacks and one quarterback hit this year for a pitiful Oakland team, but he had a combined 15 sacks the previous two seasons. It’s certainly reasonable to assume that — if he’s used in a rotational role — the 31-year-old could have an impact as a member of New England’s front seven.

When it comes to dollars, per our guy Miguel, if he was claimed on waivers, his cap hit would be $3,764,706. However, if he made it through waivers, a team could negotiate a one-year deal for him for the remainder of 2018. A completely feasible financial scenario for the Patriots.

Like we said, a lot has to happen to even get to a point where Irvin is considering New England. The former first-round pick out of West Virginia doesn’t necessarily have the same sort of connection to Bill Belichick and the Patriots that Bennett enjoyed. He also doesn’t (presumably) have the wish to exact revenge on his old team like Harrison seemed to harbor when he made his decision to sign with a rival of his old team. And there’s no sense of a last-chance sort of scenario like the one Floyd appeared to face. And all of this doesn’t even begin to take into account what might happen if his old team — Seattle — came calling about the possibility of a homecoming.

But in the end, the potential addition of Irvin to a New England defense that could use some pass rush help is another sign that when it comes to personnel, you never know what’s possible at this time of year.