They saying goes, “bad things happen in threes.”
Much to the dismay of many in the Ravens fan base, the team has already made two very unpopular moves within 24 hours. The moves are causing many to question the possibility of the Super Bowl champions pulling a repeat performance even before the the league year officially begins this afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
On Monday, the Ravens traded wide receiver (and fan favorite) Anquan Boldin to San Francisco in exchange for a 6th-round pick. Now the team has resigned special teams contributor according David Reed, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Reed quickly fell out of favor with the fan base after fumbling multiple times in an embarrassing 2012 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
With general manager Ozzie Newsome already making two moves that have promopted fans to question the direction of the team, most fans have to be asking what’s next?
Well, it’s appearing the Ravens roster is only big enough for one Reed (not Jah Reid) and future Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed could be playing football in a new city by week’s end.
Reed appeared on 105.7 The Fan’s late night show The Glenn Younes Show and informed the host that he has indeed hired an agent and will be testing the free agent market as it begins Tuesday. David Dunn from Athletes First will be representing the iconic safety.
Discussions in regards to Reed’s contract and desired extension with the Ravens have been difficult as he was not represented by an agent for the past few seasons. Agents serve a purpose as players often let their pride and emotions get the best of them when it comes to contract discussions. Often, a player will be told by a team how great he is, that is until they step into a board room with the team and they point out every flaw in attempts to drive the asking price down.
With Dunn as his agent, Reed will likely field offers from teams such as the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Reed responded during his Super Bowl media session at the end of January saying “I could definitely play for coach Belichick.” Reed then followed his initial statement by saying, “he is a great coach. I’m sure he can help me to expand my football knowledge even more as a player and as a coach, so if I’m ever able to be around him, just like I was at the Pro Bowl, it’s huge.”
If Reed and the Ravens aren’t able to reach terms on a new deal, the frontrunners to land his services have to be Chuck Pagano and the Indianapolis Colts. Pagano originally had recruited Reed during high school to play at the University of Miami and the two have had a tremendous relationship since.
Luckily for Ravens fans, the departure of Boldin has allowed the team an additional $6 million of cap space. With more money in their pockets, the chances of resigning one of the top linebackers on the market in Dannell Ellerbe – before he “hits the streets” at 4 PM today – Â just got better.
