Kamar Aiken became the latest Ravens offensive player to exit this offseason after agreeing to a one-year deal with Indianapolis on Tuesday.
The wide receiver was coming off a 2016 season in which he struggled and the Ravens did little to get him involved. Aiken caught 29 passes for 328 yards and one touchdown while playing 342 fewer offensive snaps than he did the previous season. This came after the 27-year-old excelled in place of an injured Steve Smith in 2015, finishing with a career-high 75 receptions for 944 yards and five touchdown catches while playing with four different starting quarterbacks.
Aiken had made it clear that he was looking to move on this offseason after slipping to fourth on the wide receiver depth chart behind Smith, Mike Wallace, and Breshad Perriman.
“It was one of the most frustrating years I’ve had since I’ve been in the league,” said Aiken on Jan. 2. “I would say I was proud of how I handled it. I handled it the best way I could. I’m alright with it.”
His departure leaves another offensive hole for general manager Ozzie Newsome to fill as the Ravens have now lost two of their top four wide receivers, their starting right tackle, their starting center, and their starting fullback. The only notable addition on offense has been running back Danny Woodhead, who is 32 and coming off major knee surgery.
Most of the organization’s salary-cap resources have been exhausted on improving the defense, a group that finished seventh in the NFL in total yards and ninths in points allowed last season. The Baltimore offense ranked 17th in total yards and 21st in points per game after replacing offensive coordinator Marc Trestman with Marty Mornhinweg in October.
Newsome has said he’d like to add a “complementary” receiver to go along with the speedy combination of Wallace and Perriman, but the Ravens refrained from signing any notable free-agent wideouts in a cooler-than-expected market for the position.
Aiken’s agreement with the Colts was first reported by NFL Network and later confirmed by agent David Canter.
Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
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