Raiders Rumors: Ex-Browns LB Christian Kirksey Visiting Las Vegas After Release

Free-agent linebacker Christian Kirksey is reportedly set to visit the Las Vegas Raiders on Wednesday, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.

The Cleveland Browns announced Tuesday that they had released Kirksey after he spent the first six years of his NFL career with the team.

Kirksey would fill a major area of need for the Raiders, as they released linebacker Tahir Whitehead on Monday.

The Browns selected Kirksey in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft out of Iowa, and he started eight of the 16 games he appeared in as a rookie. By his third season, Kirksey was a full-time starter.

In 2016 and 2017, Kirksey was among the NFL's most productive linebackers. He finished 2016 with 148 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, and followed that up with 138 tackles, six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in 2017.

The past two seasons have been a struggle for Kirksey in terms of staying healthy, however. He missed nine games in 2018 with a hamstring injury and then played only two games last season because of a torn pectoral tendon.

While the durability issues are concerning for any team considering signing Kirksey, the fact that he played so well in 2016 and 2017 and served as a defensive captain for the Browns could help sway the narrative in his favor.

Perhaps no team in the NFL needs more help at linebacker than the Raiders. In addition to releasing Whitehead, linebackers Vontaze Burfict, Will Compton and Kyle Wilber are all set to become free agents.

That leaves Ukeme Eligwe, Te'von Coney and Nicholas Morrow as the top linebackers on Las Vegas' depth chart. Taking that into consideration, the Raiders need at least two and perhaps even three new starters at the position.

With their issues at linebacker looming large last season, the Raiders ranked 19th in the NFL in total defense and 24th in points allowed. A healthy Kirksey would likely get the Raiders moving in the right direction, however.

If the Raiders manage to sign Kirksey and then use one of their two first-round picks on a linebacker such as Oklahoma's Kenneth Murray or LSU's Patrick Queen, they have a chance to be far better on the defensive side of the ball in 2020.