Baltimore Ravens Active on First Day of Offseason Workouts
By Joe Serpico
The Baltimore Ravens made a fury of moves as offseason workouts started today at the Under Armour Performance Center.
The NFL season has begun for the Baltimore Ravens as players and coaches will be at “The Castle” getting ready for what’s ahead in 2016. The team made a bunch of moves on the opening day of workouts, t
The biggest news of the day is that former first-round pick Trent Richardson has finally signed a contract with the team. It’s been reported for some time now that he will join the Ravens, but the deal was signed today and he will take part in the offseason program.
Richardson was out of the NFL last season after being the No. 3 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Ravens waited until today to officially sign Richardson as the two sides made an agreement that the former Alabama star show up in shape at the start of the workouts.
Baltimore also locked down Kamar Aiken for at least one more season as he signed his restricted free agent tender. The Ravens placed a second-round tender on Aiken which will count for $2.553 million against the cap for the 2016 season. Aiken played in all 16 games last year, hauling in 75 passes for 944 yards and five touchdowns.
Both Richardson and Aiken face uncertain futures with the Ravens. Aiken will make the roster, but be competing for playing time against Steve Smith, Breshad Perriman and Mike Wallace. Richardson has a more difficult task to make the team with Justin Forsett, Javorius Allen, Lorenzo Taliaferro and Terrance West – ironically another high draft pick by the Browns that did not work out – already on the roster.
The Ravens also announced that they signed exclusive rights free agents Jeremy Butler, Kaelin Clay and Ryan Jensen today. Clay stood out as a returner down the stretch, while Butler and Jensen figure to be in battles for a job come training camp.
The offseason workouts are also important for players that are rehabbing from injuries. The Ravens have several players recovering from injuries as they placed a franchise record 20 players on injured reserve last season. The most important player to watch is Joe Flacco as he recovers from his ACL injury, but Perriman will draw plenty of attention as well. Terrell Suggs and Smith will not take part in offseason workouts as they both are coming back from Achilles injuries.
Ten days from now we will have a better idea of what the 2016 Ravens look like. Most of the attention is now focused on what the a Ravens will do with the No. 6 pick, but there is plenty of work to be done before April 28.
Next: Ravens Draft Prospect: Myles Jack
Many say that this time of the year is the dull time in the NFL, but do not tell the players that. The work that is put in April and May is what gears the players to be ready come organized team activities and training camp in June and July.