When the Ravens cut Jacoby Jones in February, the move didn’t come as a huge shock. At the time the Ravens were looking to free up as much cash as they could to re-sign players like Haloti Ngata, Torrey Smith and Justin Forsett.
In 2014, Jones fell down the receiver depth chart after the signing of Steve Smith Sr. He also, at times, was a liability in the return game muffing a couple of punts and running back kickoffs where he should have settled for touchbacks. There is no doubt that 2014 wasn’t Jones’ finest, and the Ravens made the tough decision of sending one of their 2012 Super Bowl heroes packing.
But as the Ravens enter their first preseason game tomorrow is there a chance that the Ravens may regret cutting Jacoby Jones?
While Jacoby was never a consistent receiver for the Ravens, he was, and still is, very fast. Even if he has lost a step, he still has the ability to keep teams honest with his downfield presence. While Breshad Perriman was drafted by the Ravens in the first round to fill that void, a knee injury has kept him M.I.A. so far in training camp. While the Ravens continue to say the injury isn’t serious, fans are getting nervous. Having Jones on the roster as a backup plan at this point certainly wouldn’t hurt.
As Tony Lombardi pointed out in his most recent training camp report, no one has stepped up in the return game. Michael Campanaro is the leading candidate to return punts, but is hard to rely on with his injury history. Asa Jackson is probably the best-suited player to return kicks, but outside of that is likely on the roster bubble with the plethora of cornerbacks now on the roster.
When the Ravens cut Jones in February, they were tight against the cap. They were trying to work out an extension with Haloti Ngata, they made it known they wanted to re-sign Justin Forsett, and there was an outside chance they could retain Torrey Smith. Jones simply wasn’t a priority. But by cutting him, the Ravens saved a modest $750,000. One has to wonder if the Ravens had known they wouldn’t be able to keep Torrey or Haloti, would they have let Jones go?
Two of the biggest concerns the Ravens have with a month left until the regular season are speed on the outside and a threat in the return game. While Jacoby Jones may have lost a step in the last couple years, he’d certainly help in fill some of the void in regards to both. With the Ravens now sitting roughly $8 million under the salary cap, it’s fair to wonder whether the Ravens would take Jones back for the mere $750k they saved by letting him go.
