Edge rusher Key signs with Raiders
The Raiders on Friday signed LSU edge rusher and third-round draft pick Arden Key.
Key was the last unsigned member of this year’s nineplayer draft class for the Raiders.
He was twice a first-team All-SEC selection at LSU and set a school record with 12 sacks in 2016. He was available to the Raiders at No. 87 overall in the draft in part because of a rocky final college season that included a leave of absence, injuries and weight gain.
Key vowed last month: “I’m back to my 2016 (form). I got down, lost the weight.” He said the Raiders “set a plan” for him to avoid off-the-field issues and that Oakland is “the right place for me.”
The Raiders envision Key (6-foot-5 with 33½-inch arms) as a third edge rusher behind Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin. Head coach Jon Gruden said after the first day of the team’s minicamp this week that Key “has got some special passrush ability.”
The Raiders held their final mandatory minicamp practice Thursday. Players are off until the start of training camp in late July. — Matt Kawahara Cowboys’ Irving suspended: Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman David Irving was suspended four games for violating the NFL’s substanceabuse policy, the second straight year the pass rusher is facing a ban to start the season.
Irving’s four-game suspension to start last season was for violating league policy on performance enhancers. In April, a former girlfriend accused Irving of domestic abuse before recanting in April in a case that didn’t lead to charges.
Browns’ Stephenson suspended: Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Donald Stephenson was suspended two games without pay for violating the substance-abuse policy. Stephenson signed as a free agent with the Browns in March. A former third-round pick by Kansas City in 2012, he played in seven games for Denver last season.
Winslow jailed: Former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. was jailed without bail after pleading not guilty to multiple counts of kidnapping, rape and other charges. If convicted, Winslow could face life in prison.
Prosecutors say Winslow, 34, began a crime spree in March that included rapes, kidnappings, indecent exposure and burglary and continued until just before his arrest this week. According to charging documents, he allegedly kidnapped and raped a 54year-old woman on March 13 and then a 59-year-old woman on May 13. The burglary charges involved alleged break-ins at the home of a 71-year-old woman on June 1 and an 86-year-old woman on June 7.