The Patriots laid the groundwork for a deal before the trade deadline but nothing came to pass.

But opportunities are still out there.

On Saturday, news broke that the Raiders will release edge rusher Bruce Irvin. The 15th overall pick in 2012, Irvin is a big-ticket item for a team in the midst of a teardown.

He played nine snaps in Thursday night’s embarrassing loss to the 49ers.

After that, head coach Jon Gruden said of the light workload, “Well, last night we weren’t in our nickel defense very much. Remember we’re a 4-3 team, we’re not a 3-4. So in the base defense, sometimes he doesn’t fit the role that we need done. No disrespect to Bruce. He’s an edge rusher.

“We haven’t had a lead,” Gruden said. “We haven’t had the opposition behind in the chains a lot. So his role has been reduced. I know he’s frustrated. I’m frustrated. We’ll try to solve that as soon as possible. He’s a good player. He’s a good player.”

We’ll see what the rest of the league thinks since, after the trade deadline, all released players pass through waivers, even vested veterans.

Any team claiming him is agreeing to pay the rest of Irvin’s 2018 salary which is $3,764,706. The Raiders surely dangled Irvin before the trade deadline but found no takers then so the chance he passes through waivers unclaimed is high.

The Patriots have more than $5M in cap space currently but a sizable portion of that has to be allocated to playing-time incentives players earn during the course of the year. So they have room but it’s tight.

The most likely scenario for Irvin landing in New England would be passing on making a claim but reaching out immediate if Irvin goes unclaimed.

Do they have the need? They do.

Trey Flowers is a bona fide pass-rushing threat but the Patriots aren’t getting consistent pressure from anyone else in their front-seven. Adrian Clayborn hasn’t had a drastic impact since coming in and the team is still waiting for the blossoming of Derek Rivers.

They also have the time. Working in the Patriots favor is the fact they are heading into their bye week. They'd have the opportunity to get Irvin up to speed with his role in their defense if they are inclined to chase him.

Irvin was a key part of the Seahawks defense when they were at their best earlier this decade. He went to Oakland in 2016 and had his best year with the Raiders in that season.

But when the Raiders dealt Khalil Mack to Chicago at the start of the season, the chance for Irvin to profit from having a superstar defender alongside vanished.

He hasn’t made many plays of consequence for the dysfunctional Raiders. The 31-year-old Irvin has six tackles and three sacks, a precipitous drop from the past two years.

While Irvin is probably a victim of circumstance to some degree, the high cost of picking up his contract is something the Patriots will want to duck.

Bringing him in with a narrow, well-defined role during the bye week with a chance to make a contribution for a contending team for the first time since 2015? That’s got to have some appeal.

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