Not to harp on the Dez Bryant angle today (as it was also the inspiration for my question of the day earlier), but the reality is that the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver quite literally is probably already on the Baltimore Ravens’ radar, so it wouldn’t be entirely surprising of the Pittsburgh Steelers see him twice this year.
I honestly don’t know what kind of market Bryant is going to find for himself, because he quite frankly has been putting up borderline pedestrian numbers for the past three seasons while also battling injuries, and will also be turning 30 during the 2018 season.
But the Ravens are a team that has a history of doing things that make this bit of dot-connecting tenable. For one thing, they love signing street free agents. For another, they love signing street free agent wide receivers and have already done so this year with Michael Crabtree (also interested in Jordy Nelson).
What’s more, they have no qualms about making big cap shifts in order to accommodate relative ‘splash’ signings in free agency when they have the opportunity to make them. They’ll restructure tons of contracts and release players if they have to if they feel it makes their team more equipped to win the Super Bowl in 2018.
Since the Ravens signed Crabtree and John Brown, they have continued to express interest in another of other wide receivers, including Willie Snead, Cameron Meredith, and Michael Floyd, making it clear that they very much are in the market for the position.
It is understandable given that they are without their top wide receivers from last season in terms of receptions. Mike Wallace was a free agent and signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. Jeremy Maclin, a street free agent wide receiver they signed last year, was released. Michael Campanero was also a free agent and just signed with the Tennessee Titans.
While there have been no official reports of Baltimore directly expressing interest in Bryant yet, it wouldn’t be surprising if we hear them soon. Even Adam Schefter noted the Ravens as one of four potential landing spots that would make a lot of sense on paper.
Of course, Bryant wants to play with the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, or Washington Redskins because he wants to play the Cowboys twice a year and show them what they’re missing. He thought he would be a Cowboy for life and felt slighted when Jerry Jones didn’t even offer him a pay cut, which he said he would have accepted.
We all know the Ravens are still short at wide receiver even after having signed two in free agency. We all know they don’t have much success drafting the position. Right now they have about $11 million in cap space and could make even more relatively easily if necessary. Let the Dez to Ravens rumors commence.
