The highly coveted free agent wide receiver, Jeremy Maclin, wrapped up his visit in Baltimore today, without closing a deal with the Baltimore Ravens. Maclin had been in Buffalo from Tuesday evening into Wednesday afternoon, where the Bills were also unable to land the receiver. Maclin conducted the same type of visit with the Ravens, as he arrived last night, and stayed until this afternoon. The front office, along with the coaching staff, was hoping they would be able to convince Maclin to sign a deal with the team today, however, they proved unsuccessful at their attempt to do so.
According to coach Harbaugh, Maclin is merely taking his time deciding where his next stop will be on his NFL journey. Maclin wants to contemplate all of his options, and choose which is the best for him and his career. Although it leaves his potential future with the Baltimore Ravens in doubt, this is the best thing Maclin can do for himself. It is far better to take time in making such an important decision than to rush into signing with a team based off of one visit with them. Ravens fans may be weary towards this news, but they should keep one thing in mind. Baltimore is a much better team, and unlike the Bills, in a position to make a postseason run with a few more additions. This should weigh in on Maclin’s decision.
So now, what’s next for the Ravens? Baltimore will now have to decide whether or not they feel confident enough in waiting for Maclin to make his decision. There is no telling how long it will take. It could be a day, or a week, or even more. There are still other teams out there that may be interested in bringing Maclin into town, and Maclin would probably want to visit them as well. Baltimore in the mean time has to decide whether or not they want to pursue Jets wide receiver, Eric Decker. Baltimore will only be able to afford one of these top wide receivers. If Baltimore wants to sign Maclin, they will have to ignore Eric Decker for now. However, if they do this, Decker may be traded to or sign with another team (if released by the Jets). If this happens, the Ravens will absolutely need to land Maclin, but still, run the risk of losing him. For Baltimore, they will need to figure out who they value more and determine a period of time they are willing to wait on Maclin for. If Maclin exceeds that amount of time, Baltimore will likely go after Decker.
