Report: Raiders looking to trade for linebackers, pass rushers

Oakland already shopping for help on defense as trade deadline approaches

With the NFL’s trade deadline approaching, the Raiders are reportedly shopping for linebackers and pass rushers as they look to upgrade their defense for a possible playoff run.

The Raiders will be buyers before the Oct. 29 trade deadline as they’ve been calling multiple teams looking to deal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday. No particular players targeted by Oakland were revealed.

But the Raiders lost an important part of their defense when oft-penalized middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict was suspended for the season after a helmet-to-helmet against the Colts on Sept. 29.

Despite some issues on defense, the Raiders were a surprising 3-2 heading into Sunday’s game in Green Bay. The Raiders defense came into the game 21st in the league in points allowed (24.6 per game) and 17th in yards allowed (355.6 per game). Their unit was ranked 29th out of 32 teams, according to Pro Football Focus.com.

The Raiders had just nine sacks before Sunday, which was fifth-worst in the NFL.

It also hasn’t helped that Oakland hasn’t received much help from three of their top draft choices, defensive end Clelin Ferrell, safety Johnathan Abram and cornerback Trayvon Mullen. Ferrell has the third-worst pass-rush win rate among all pass rushers, according to PFF.com. In addition, Mullen hasn’t been seeing much action — PFF.com has him with a sub-par 55.5 grade. Abram, the promising first-round pick from Mississippi State, suffered a torn rotator cuff injury and is on injured reserve.