Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens: Grading The 2016 Free Agents

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:21 p.m. ET

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I take a look at the contributions of the Ravens 2016 free agent class

Free Agency, the time where teams bring in big additions, but also can lose them as well.

Last season, the Ravens surprisingly brought in a good amount of free agents. Ozzie Newsome usually sticks to improving the team by taking rookies in the NFL Draft, but brought in some talent from other teams. After a 5-11 season in 2015, players needed to be brought in, whether it was through the draft or through free agency.

In this post, I only focus on the free agents that the Ravens signed before the 2016 season.
 I look at their contributions and grade them based on their performance with the team.

Ben Watson

Watson put together his best season in his final year with the Saints in 2015. He was one of Drew Bree’s favorite targets and the two connected for 6 touchdowns.

In his first preseason game with the Ravens, Watson suffered an Achilles injury. It was a disappointing end to his first season with the team, not even after one full game.

The Ravens are very tight in their cap space this off-season. More than likely, we will not see Ben Watson on the team next season. There are a number of tight-ends already on the roster and they are all younger. An Achilles tear at the age of 36 is usually a career ending injury. Even though Steve Smith Sr proved that wrong, it only happens in very rare occasions.

It’s hard to give Watson a grade here, especially since we never got to see what he could do. For that and the fact that he will most likely be cut, it was a waste of money for the Ravens.

Grade: F


Eric Weddle

From the start, the addition of Eric Weddle was a great fit for the Ravens defense.

The free safety spent the first 9 seasons of his career with the San Diego Chargers, racking up Pro Bowls and All-Pro honors. In his last season with the Chargers, Weddle did not put up his best statistics and was ultimately not brought back. The bearded man eventually found a home in the charm city.

The Ravens brought Weddle over last summer on a 4-year $26 million deal. Since joining the birds, he has not skipped a beat. Pro Football focus ranked Weddle as the second best safety in 2016, and deservedly so. He was one of the Raven’s best defensive players last season. His hard-nose style of play fit perfectly into AFC North football. He finished the year with 89 combined tackles and 4 interceptions, his second best total in his career. Unfortunately, he was snubbed from the Pro-Bowl voting, but Ravens fans know how valuable he is.

Even when the Ravens were officially eliminated from the playoffs, Weddle said he would choose the Ravens over again. You have to love that. I give Weddle the highest grade out of all the free agents here. I threw the minus in only for the fact that he dropped those interceptions… C’mon man.

Grade: A-


Mike Wallace

Mike Wallace had a fantastic start to his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2009-2012 but tapered off when he followed the money to other destinations.

He had two unsuccessful stints with the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings, but ultimately found the Ravens. He signed a 2 year, $11.5 million deal with the Ravens last summer. The move was a risk/reward situation, but one that could have a good payout.

In my opinion, I think Wallace was worth the money last season. He eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark and provided a speedy target for Joe Flacco. He even got to burn his former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, with a 95 yard touchdown reception in November.

While I thought Wallace had a good year, he seemed to disappear at times. One game he would be flying down the field for a touchdown and another game he would only have 1 catch. There is a chance he might not be back with the Ravens next season. The team could dump his salary to free up cap space. If he comes back, the consistency needs to be better.

Grade: B


Devin Hester

It is hard to not be intrigued when your team signs the best kick/punt returner in NFL history.
Devin Hester could make the Hall of Fame solely on his return game, which is crazy. He came into the league as a wide receiver, but was never fully used as one. His specialty and dominance came in the return game. After a great career with the Bears, Hester spent 2 years with the Falcons before joining the Ravens. He would try to serve as the return threat that the Ravens had been missing since Jacoby Jones.

It quickly became clear that this was not the same Devin Hester as before. He rarely brought out a kick-off and fumbled the ball 4 times on punt returns.

I do not even know how to describe it. It was like he did not even want to catch the football. Time and time again he would let punts roll past him. His inability to catch the ball put the Ravens offense in terrible situations. They were constantly starting drives from inside of the 10 yard line.
The team finally had enough and cut Hester after the game against the New England Patriots.
Hester had a great career as a returner, but was a waste of money for the Ravens.

Grade: F


Jerraud Powers

If the Ravens have any consistent weak spot, it is the corner-back position. The team re-signed  Shareece Wright to play along Jimmy Smith, but there was more depth needed. Jerraud Powers was brought in on a 1-year contract to help.

The corner-back had an average season. He finished the season with 33 tackles and 2 interceptions for the Ravens. Powers did not see a ton of game time in the first half of the season, but injuries to Jimmy Smith forced him into a larger role. When put into the starting role, he struggled. There were times when he would get burned down the middle of the field for big yardage.

Overall, he provided decent play for the Ravens secondary. The team could have definitely been worse off with other options. He will be a free agent this off-season and it will be interesting to see if he will be brought back, especially since the team will still be thin at the corner-back position.

Grade: C

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