It's Time For The Ravens To Just Say No To Adding Aging Receivers

The Ravens seem to think it's mandatory to have an WR near the end of his career on their roster. We have years of evidence to the contrary and it's only been getting worse

Dec 10, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (3) celebrates after sowing a second quarter touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams during the at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Since the Ravens have clearly decided to course correct in several ways this offseason, going in a drastically different direction at head coach and at least verbally agreeing to a trade the likes of which was completely outside the norm of anything the franchise had done previously, it’s time for the front office to buck at least one other trend.

Stop wasting money on over-the-hill receivers. and pretending their "veteran leadership" is some secret sauce.

Stop over-prioritizing this roster-building fallacy.

Stop paying for the past, after years of being unable to deduce that these kind of guys can still do.

Stop the madness. Please.

Let De’Andre Hopkins be the last of a long list of receivers near the end of their career who come through Baltimore and put up career lows.  Let him be the last to brood in-season over how he was misused (dude had a point, but the routine has gotten stale) and have to got on a reclamation tour the following year hoping to extend his career in a better situation. Rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, at age 29, is no Todd Monken. Let his skin toughen up before you throw this potential drama his way.

Stop chasing the dream of finding anything akin to what Derrick Mason or Steve Smith provided and just start writing down the list of distinguished receiving career that came here to have their careers, well, die (some of them future Hall of Famers at that).

Because for ever Mason or Smith there are four or five of these guys ...

You May Have Blocked Some Of These Names From Your Memory, For Good Reason

Sammy Watkins (twice!). Dez Bryant (ouch). OBJ. Desean Jackson (gulp). Michael Crabtree. Nelson Agholor (the second time). Mike Wallace (ended ugly after a first-year pop). Jeremy Maclin. And, yeah, Hopkins.

It’s been money wasted and it’s kept promising wideouts on the sidelines at times and it’s just not something this front office is adept at doing. Throw more darts at guys with size and speed in the draft (yeah, both), and stop thinking that one of these dudes is going to put a team over the top with leadership and moxie and big plays or whatever else keeps leading them down this road to nowhere.

Recently, the trend has been decidedly barren. Going back to 2020, here’s what the Ravens have culled from the designated veteran receiver spot on the roster:

2025 – Hopkins: 22-330-2 ($5M)

2024 – Agholor: 14-231-2 ($3.75M)

2023 – OBJ: 35-565-3 ($15M)

2022- - Jackson: 9-153-0 ($1.1M, prorated)

2021 – Watkins: 27-394-0 ($5M)

2020 – Bryant: 6-47-2 ($1.1M, prorated)

Not exactly trending in a great direction!

Especially now, with Doyle having his hands full already just getting his offense implemented for the first time and calling plays for the first time, don't crank up the difficulty. Don't thrust another big personality into the mix. They've already checked the box of overpaid pass-catcher who fades by the playoffs (just can’t quit Mark Andrews). Don’t need another.

Who else remembers Eric DeCosta opining about needing to keep taking swings on receivers in the draft despite their years of failings there? Agree 100 percent. Let's stick to that plan.

And don’t compromise their development process by adding a veteran for too much money who can’t run or jump or produce the way we remember him doing someplace else. Put whatever remaining money you spend into the trenches or in a tight end. Let this trend end with D-Hop. We've all seen enough.