Ravens Struggle to Land Pair of Free-Agent Wide Receivers Despite Higher Offers
Earlier this offseason, both Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh were confident the team could land a wide receiver in free agency.
However, they faced questions about the ability to attract a veteran playmaker because of the team's beleaguered passing game that ranked last in yards per game and attempts.
"I’ve never had a player yet say to me, ‘I don’t want to come play for the Baltimore Ravens, because you don’t throw the ball.’ It hasn’t happened yet – maybe it will," DeCosta said. "Most of the time what I get is, ‘I hear you guys are an amazing franchise. I know players who have played for you guys and loved the experience. You’re a great team for veteran players. I want to play with Lamar Jackson. I love your defense.
"Baltimore is a town that I want to be in. I’ve played against you guys. I love your fanbase. Your stadium is amazing.’ That’s what I hear. I’ve never heard, ‘Well, you don’t throw the ball – I’m not going there.’ There’s always an exception, but I haven’t heard it yet.”
However, at least two of the Ravens' potential targets — JuJu Smith-Schuster and T.Y. Hilton — opted to sign with their former teams despite being offered more money in Baltimore.
The Ravens still could possibly sign another free-agent wide receiver, Sammy Watkins, but he is being pursued by several other teams that had more prolific passing attacks in 2020.
Smith-Schuster turned down a $9.5 million deal with another $3.5 million in incentives from the Ravens to stay in Pittsburgh for $8 million.
Hilton reportedly turned down a three-year deal from the Ravens to stay in Indianapolis for another season for $10 million, a price Baltimore could have easily absorbed.
If the Ravens can't land Watkins, they'll have to look toward the draft to add another free-agent wide receiver. The team also needs to add an edge rusher, but that should not pose the same challenge because of the strength of the defense and its propensity to blitz.
"I’m not going to even worry about convincing anybody to do something," Harbaugh said. "I’m not going to beg anybody to be here. I’m not a college coach and I don’t have to recruit anybody. ‘You want to win? You want to win? You want to be a part of a great organization, and you want to be a part of a team, and you want to love coming to work every single day, and you’re a football player and you love football? You want to play in the AFC North – come here. If you don’t …
"If you’re all about stats, and numbers, and your stat line, and how many balls you catch, necessarily, and that’s all you care for – then there’s a lot of other teams you can go play for, and we’ll be looking forward to lining up against you.’”
