This is hardly breaking news but the Ravens need help at wide receiver and with all due respect to newcomer Chris Givens, the former Ram is not enough.
Givens of course took the roster spot of Michael Campanaro who is now on IR with a herniated disk. Steve Smith, Sr. has broken bones in his back. Smith’s brand of football is physical. He takes on would-be tacklers with tenacity and the eagerness of a young child on Christmas morning.
But those broken bones – clearly they will affect Smith regardless of his “Hall of Fame” tolerance for pain. The broken bones will limit how the Ravens use Smith. Slants over the middle won’t be as effective and clearly more dangerous. Comeback routes with defenders bearing down on Smith’s spine are likely to be scratched for the 36-year-old receiver.
Therefore it stands to reason that if the Ravens want to really make a run at 2015 they need another receiver. But who?
The name of Alshon Jeffrey has been kicked around as a short-term rental, or possibly a long-term solution. But Jeffrey, as productive as he is when he takes the field, is an injury waiting to happen. Given the contracts of AJ Green, Julio Jones, Dez Bryant and DeMaryius Thomas, clearly Jeffrey’s agent Eugene Parker will want to get top dollar for his client during an offseason when cap numbers could bump by $17M per team.
So if the Bears are having a fire sale, which appears to be the case, could Jeffrey be available. Should Ozzie Newsome give up a fourth or fifth round pick for an oft-injured player for 12 games?
Here’s something to consider as you ponder the question…
If the Ravens acquire Jeffrey now, he would carry a reasonable cap value of 13/17th of his 2015 salary ($960,157) or $734,238. And while you are kicking that number around remember that the Ravens only have $1.53M in available cap space – for the moment.
Yes injuries make managing the cap a challenging task.
Think about this – on Sunday against the Browns $24.7M of the team’s $143.6M cap number won’t even dress.
It has been a painful season in more ways than one.
