The 2019 season ended in the most anticlimactic fashion for the Baltimore Ravens. A potential Super Bowl run fell apart in the blink of an eye. Although disappointment still permeates, Ravens fans should be optimistic about the future. Now that the offseason has begun, it’s time to take a look at the individual positional groups and assess their future. Here are the wide receivers currently on the 2020 roster.

• Marquise Brown
  • 2020 Age: 23
  • Experience: 2nd year
  • 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
  • Contract Remaining: $9,644,187/3 years, with a fifth-year option for 2024.
  • 2020 Cap Hit: $2,678,941
  • 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $9,446,823
  • 2020 Cut Savings: -$6,767,882
  • Probability of Being Cut/Traded: None
• Willie Snead IV
  • 2020 Age: 27
  • Experience: 7th year
  • 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
  • Contract Remaining:$5,412,059/1 year
  • 2020 Cap Hit: $5,412,059
  • 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $5,412,059
  • 2020 Cut Savings: $0
  • Probability of Being Cut/Traded: Low
• Miles Boykin
  • 2020 Age: 23
  • Experience: 2nd year
  • 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
  • Contract Remaining: $2,865,696/3 years
  • 2020 Cap Hit: $864,732
  • 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $642,696
  • 2020 Cut Savings: $222,036
  • Probability of Being Cut/Traded: Low
• Seth Roberts
  • 2020 Age: 29
  • Experience: 7th year
  • 2020 Free Agent Status: UFA
  • Contract Remaining: None
  • 2020 Cap Hit: N/A
  • 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: N/A
  • 2020 Cut Savings: N/A
  • Probability of Being Re-Signed: Medium
• Chris Moore
  • 2020 Age: 27
  • Experience: 5th year
  • 2020 Free Agent Status: UFA
  • Contract Remaining: None
  • 2020 Cap Hit: N/A
  • 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: N/A
  • 2020 Cut Savings: N/A
  • Probability of Being Re-Signed: Low
• Jaleel Scott
  • 2020 Age: 25
  • Experience: 3rd year
  • 2020 Free Agent Status: Under Contract
  • Contract Remaining: $1,700,191/2 years
  • 2020 Cap Hit: $805,095
  • 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $290,191
  • 2020 Cut Savings: $514,904
  • Probability of Being Cut/Traded: High
• De’Anthony Thomas
  • 2020 Age: 27
  • Experience: 7th year
  • 2020 Free Agent Status: UFA
  • Contract Remaining: None
  • 2020 Cap Hit: N/A
  • 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: N/A
  • 2020 Cut Savings: N/A
  • Probability of Being Re-Signed: Medium

Potential Moves Baltimore Could Make:

• Re-sign Seth Roberts, Chris Moore, and/or De’Anthony Thomas.
• Release Jaleel Scott to create more roster space.

What Moves Should the Ravens Make to the Roster?

The Baltimore Ravens do not have many items on the 2020 offseason wishlist, but chief among the few listed is a new wide receiver. Baltimore made great strides in improving the pass-catcher group in 2019 with the additions of rookies Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin, and veteran Seth Roberts, but the Ravens still have work to do in 2020. Ask any fan, beat writer, or draft expert – the Baltimore Ravens need to add a wide receiver. Whether that wide receiver comes in free agency or April’s draft is yet to be determined.

The Ravens are entering the 2020 offseason with four wide receivers on the roster. Baltimore carried seven receivers on the 2019 roster, but that year was an anomaly. The Ravens maintained six wide receivers on the roster in 2016 and 2017 and just five in 2018. Assuming the Ravens will return to a traditional six wide receiver set in 2020, Baltimore will need to add two receivers to the Brown, Boykin, Snead, Scott group. There are two scenarios that could play out this offseason. The Ravens could dip into the league market and pick up an expensive option to pair with Marquise Brown and forgo drafting a new receiver, or the Ravens could find a cheap option to round out the group before drafting a receiver in the first few rounds of the 2020 Draft.

Intuition tells me that the Ravens do the latter. It’s early in the Eric DeCosta administration, but history suggests the Ravens will stay away from big-ticket receivers during the tampering period. Under DeCosta’s predecessor, whom he worked under for many, many years, Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens rarely targeted big-name receivers at high market prices. Baltimore preferred to snatch up the leftovers, guys that were cut by teams during free agency, or receivers that fewer teams wanted. The Ravens will have about $26 million in cap space according to Spotrac, but it seems unlikely that Eric DeCosta will want to blow a large chunk, say $10 million per year (which is a very, very modest estimation), on a receiver like A.J. Green or Amari Cooper.

The Ravens should take what I believe to be the most likely route, re-signing Seth Roberts. Roberts was not the star of the Ravens show, but he played a respectable supporting role. Roberts caught 21 balls for 271 yards. a 2 year, $5 million contract should be enough to keep the former Raider in Baltimore, and why not strike that deal? Roberts’ experience in the offensive system is valuable enough, and his supporting role can continue being played, for an inexpensive price tag, while the Ravens reach out for a new toy in the draft.

Which Free Agents Should the Ravens Target?

As previously mentioned, the Ravens could reach into Steve Bisciotti’s pockets to sign a free agent wide receiver. If Baltimore is going into the market, there’s no point in signing someone to be a bottom feeder on the roster, especially if the Ravens re-sign Seth Roberts. Therefore, if the Ravens do enter the market, which I do not recommend, Baltimore must come out with a big-name, and high priced wide receiver. Receivers that fit this profile include A.J. Green, Amari Cooper, and Emmanuel Sanders (although Green will probably cost the least). Spotrac estimates that A.J. Green will command a $9.1 million per year market, Amari Cooper a $19.7 million market, and Emmanuel Sanders a $10 million market. A $10 million contract would consume 37.63% of the Ravens’ cap space, which would not be the end of the world, but the expense is still very high for an aged wide receiver.

Other, less expensive options include former Cowboys receiver, Dez Bryant, and former Ravens first-round pick, Breshad Perriman. Bryant turned down a lucrative deal with the Ravens in the 2018 offseason, but recently expressed his interest in joining the Ravens in the 2020 offseason. Maybe a switch at quarterback had something to do with that change of heart. Baltimore could also pursue Breshad Perriman. Perriman was a major disappointment in Baltimore, dropping almost every pass that came his way. But since he left Charm City, Perriman took a drastic turn for the better. He’s succeeded in both Cleveland and Tampa Bay, and many wonder if a reunion if possible.

At the end of the day, though, I do not recommend signing any additional wide receivers from the free agency market. The big names are too expensive, while Dez Bryant is too much of a liability with prior injury and age, and the Ravens have already moved on from Perriman.

Do the Ravens Need to Draft a Wide Receiver?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is more complicated. The Baltimore Ravens will need another receiver to hedge their bets on for future development, but what kind? Logic and consensus suggest a big possession receiver to stand opposite Marquise Brown, but the Ravens could double down on speed as the organization has at nearly every other offensive skill position. It’s too early in the process to make a suggestion on what player should be drafted, so I will refrain from doing so. Just know that the Ravens need to draft a receiver in the first three rounds unless the need is addressed in free agency.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•