Ravens Have Big Decision Looming on Marquise Brown
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens must decide whether to pick up the fifth-year option for wide receiver Marquise Brown that will cost the team about $13 million in 2023.
Brown finished the 2021 season with 91 receptions for 1,008 yards with 6 touchdowns.
“I feel like I had a weak 1,000 yards, but I’m grateful, [I’m] thankful," Brown said. "But [that was] definitely not how I wanted to end the season. We started the season off good. One of the key things I talked about was consistency, and I feel like the later half of the season wasn’t that consistent.
"So, for me, I’m going to go back to work and come back, and … 1,000 yards is really just like a base. That’s just … [I] really want to get in the playoffs, win Super Bowls and become a better player."
Brown and Mark Andrews each eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards on the year. It was just the second Ravens tandem to reach the 1,000-yard mark in the same season, joining Michael Jackson and Derrick Alexander who accomplished that feat in 1996.
The Ravens signed Andrews to a four-year extension worth $56 million in September, making him the third-highest paid tight end in terms of yearly average salary.
The Ravens also need to reach a contract extension with quarterback Lamar Jackson, and that could exceed $40 million per season.
The question is whether they're willing to make another investment in Brown, who was the 25th overall pick in the 2019 draft.
As a rookie with the Ravens, Brown caught 46 passes for 584 yards with seven touchdowns despite being hampered by a foot injury.
The following year, he caught 58 passes for 769 yards with eight scores.
Brown is a hard worker in the offseason, and this year will be crucial for him.
"I want to get even bigger, stronger, faster. And just keep working on my route running," Brown said. "We’re getting moved around with the offense. [I want to] work on my routes from the inside, work on my routes from the outside, work on contested catches, and just really everything that I possibly can get better at by the time September comes back around.”
