Malik

Reed

Irvin had been on the Lions practice squad a couple of months ago, but will now have a place on the Dolphins’ active roster. The 36-year-old played 11 games for Seattle last season and finished with 3.5 sacks. With the Dolphins losing both Jaelen Phillips and Bradley Chubb weeks ago and then Kevin Van Ginkel just last week, the team is desperate for help off the edge during the playoffs. They also signed EDGE Malik Reed to their practice squad.

Waived by the Dolphins in August, Reed, 27, catches on with the Raiders. Reed has 82 tackles, 16 sacks, and three forced fumbles in 59 career NFL games. He’ll likely be a situational pass rusher in Vegas.

Reed was signed to a one-year deal by the Dolphins earlier this offseason after playing all of last year with the Steelers. Through 59 career games, Reed has totaled 82 tackles, 16 sacks, and three forced fumbles. As a 27-year-old pass rusher with an eight-sack season to his resumé, he’s likely to catch on with another team in the coming weeks.

The four-year veteran entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Broncos before playing for the Steelers in 2022. Reed has appeared in 59 games over four seasons as a professional and set a career high with eight sacks in 2021. He will now head to Miami to compete for a starting linebacker or EDGE role. The one-year commitment by the Dolphins gives them a low-cost chance to see if Reed can replicate his career year before they decide on their future path on the edge.

The two teams are swapping late-round picks. Reed is playing on the RFA tender this season and is scheduled to be a free agent in 2023. The former UDFA out of Nevada had eight sacks in 2020 and five last year while playing 81% of the Broncos’ defensive snaps. He likely wasn’t a fit under the new coaching staff. Reed gives the Steelers a bookend to T.J. Watt who will compete for snaps with Alex Highsmith.

Denver extended a right of first refusal tender to Reed in March, so the contract should be worth about $2.4 million. Reed has 13 sacks over the past two seasons and took on a larger role in 2021, playing over 80 percent of Denver’s snaps during his 14 active games. He totaled five sacks, two forced fumbles, and three TFLs last year.

The tender will be worth around $2.4 million if Reed ends up signing it. Because it is the right of first refusal tender, the Broncos will not be awarded any draft compensation if they decline to match an offer. Denver brought in pass-rush help in the form of Randy Gregory on Tuesday, but Reed could still be a useful depth piece in 2022.

PFF College’s No. 1-graded edge defender in the Mountain West last season, Reed generated pressure on 21% of his 2018 pass-rush snaps — the third-highest rate among all draft-eligible defensive linemen. A puzzling Combine snub, Reed’s energetic friskiness projects him as an off-the-edge LB/DE hybrid.