Bruce Irvin not sure whether he’ll be back with Raiders

Among the handful of names thrown around as far as who will be back next year for the Raiders and who will not, Bruce Irvin’s name has come up. Though based on his production and his relatively friendly salary for a pass rusher ($8.25 million), it has seemed (to me at least) that he was more than likely back next season. He may not be as convinced of that as I am.

Today he took to twitter where he expressed his doubts on a return next season.

“Baby Reggie” is the nickname Irvin had been given not long after he joined the Raiders based on his aggressive recruiting efforts to woo potential free agents to join the team.

The fact that he hasn’t been vocal about that this offseason suggests, as he says, that he is uncertain he would be recruiting players to a team on which he was still a part. The shrug emoji at the end suggest that this is less likely a decision he is making, and more just that he has gotten no indication the team has him in their plans.

Often times when players express such feelings, team management will contact them or their representation to ease their worries. That is, if the team does plan on bringing him back. Irvin has always been pretty upfront about things, so if/when he hears one way or the other, we should see signs of that.

Update: Rumors are that the Raiders would like Irvin to take a pay cut. That is the ‘buzz’ in a piece in the Athletic. That could explain Irvin’s uncertainty about returning.