Sammy Watkins On Way to Baltimore for Visit with Ravens
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens could be on the verge of adding that elusive free-agent wide receiver.
Former Chiefs wideout Sammy Watkins is on his way to Baltimore to visit with the team, according to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Watkins will reportedly meet with the Ravens on March 23 and then travel to Indianapolis and speak with the Colts the following day. The Tennessee Titans also have an interest in him.
Watkins is widely regarded as one of the best free-agent wide receivers still on the free-agent market. T.Y. Hilton and Larry Fitzgerald are also still available.
Some of the other top players found new homes over the past two weeks.
- Kenny Golladay reached a four-year, $72 million deal with the New York Giants, according to multiple reports.
- Former Houston Texans receiver Will Fuller reached a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins with a base salary of $990,000 and incentives up to $3 million.
- The Jacksonville Jaguars reached a two-year, $14.5 million deal with Marvin Jones Jr.
- A.J. Green agreed to a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals, worth up to $8.5 million.
- Baltimore contacted JuJu Smith-Schuster, who turned down its $9.5 million offer to stay in Pittsburgh for $8 million.
The Ravens prompted the Ravens to aggressively pursue Sammy Watkins to boost a passing attack that ranked last in the NFL last season.
Watkins was a highly-touted player from Clemson and was the fourth overall pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 2014 draft. He also spent one season with the Rams (2017) before signing with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Over 86 career games, Watkins has caught 321 passes for 4,665 yards with 33 touchdowns. He'll turn 28 on June 14 so he has plenty of solid football ahead of him. Watkins has the speed to get behind secondaries and does an effective job gaining yards after a reception.
However, Watkins has dealt with injuries throughout his career. This past season, he missed six games with a calf injury. Over his career, Watkins has missed 26 games because of injuries and played in all 16 games just once — his rookie year in Buffalo.
This past season, he finished with 37 receptions on 55 targets for 421 yards and two touchdowns over 10 games. Watkins has also been prone to some drops over the past couple of seasons.
Watkins would be affordable at about $10 million per season. However, at this point, the Ravens could just set their sights on the draft to add a playmaking wide receiver.
