It’s hard to overstate just how wild the Ravens offseason has been. After firing head coach John Harbaugh after almost two decades of service, Baltimore made a big splash with the Maxx Crosby trade. Or so everyone thought. The Ravens ultimately backed out of the deal after Crosby’s physical and ended up signing Trey Hendrickson to a massive four-year, $112 million contract. The team also lost several big-name free agents, including star center Tyler Linderbaum, to higher offers elsewhere.
Despite all this, NFL Network’s Eric Edholm believes the Ravens are one of the biggest winners of the offseason. In a recent article, the analyst named them as the top winner of the first wave of free agency.
“Now, they’re no longer giving two first-round picks to the Raiders and millions of dollars to Crosby,” Edholm writes. “But they were able to sign Hendrickson for about $60 million guaranteed. And it cost them no picks…There’s still work to be done to get Baltimore back into contention, and doing so with a first-year head coach will be a challenge, but making the best of a potentially bad situation was a short-term win, whether you agree with how the team handled its business with Crosby or note.”
Ravens Named Offseason Winner After Botched Maxx Crosby Trade
Reading between the lines, it appears as though Edholm is mostly giving the Ravens credit for not giving up a king’s ransom for Maxx Crosby. While the edge rusher an one of the best in the game when healthy, he’s coming off a season-ending injury and will be entering his age-29 season next year. Most reports indicate the Ravens had no reason to be surprised by the state of Crosby’s body during his physical, so they essentially got cold feet once they realized they could sign Hendrickson.
However, even if you think Hendrickson is a better option than Crosby when factoring in the draft pick compensation, it’s still hard to say that the Ravens have had a good offseason. Hendrickson comes with his own share of risks (namely, age and injury), and the team gave up a lot for his services. Additionally, Baltimore lost several key starters and still needs to find a way to replace players like Linderbaum. While Hendrickson will improve the pass rush, the Ravens overall roster is weaker now than it was a week ago. Frankly, it’s hard to see how that’s a win.
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