The Ravens began their latest rebuild at the wide receiver position on Monday by releasing veteran wide receiver Michael Crabtree.
The 31-year-old was entering the second season of a three-year, $21 million contract signed last year that ultimately paid him just $8 million. Baltimore will save $4.667 million in salary cap space and carry $4.667 million in dead money on the 2019 cap while looking to improve at the wide receiver position, a longstanding problem for the organization.
The release was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and seemingly confirmed by Crabtree, who alluded to the news with a tweet and removed references to the Ravens in his Twitter profile.
We good! Let’s get it!
— Michael Crabtree (@KingCrab15) February 25, 2019
Signed to serve as a legitimate red-zone threat after catching a total of 25 touchdowns the previous three years, Crabtree caught just 54 passes for 607 yards and three touchdowns and became much less of a factor when the Ravens shifted from injured veteran Joe Flacco to rookie Lamar Jackson at quarterback in November. According to Pro Football Focus, Crabtree owned the third-highest drop rate in the NFL in 2018 and failed to catch the potential game-winning touchdown in the Week 5 overtime loss at Cleveland. He made only 13 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown in Jackson’s seven regular-season starts, but he did catch two fourth-quarter scores in the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Crabtree may not be the only veteran receiver to depart from the Ravens in the coming weeks as the speedy John Brown is an unrestricted free agent. After a promising start to the season, Brown posted a total of just 128 receiving yards in the eight games started by Jackson, leaving one to wonder whether he’ll prefer continuing his career elsewhere.
The question now becomes how the Ravens go about improving at the position with the projected free-agent market not overflowing with great options. Many have speculated about new general manager Eric DeCosta selecting a wide receiver with the 22nd overall pick in April, but Baltimore has taken a total of just one wide receiver — 2015 first-round pick Breshad Perriman — in the first three rounds of the last seven drafts.
Willie Snead and Chris Moore are the only wide receivers currently under contract for the 2019 season to have caught a pass for Baltimore in 2018. Both DeCosta and new offensive coordinator Greg Roman have expressed a preference to have wide receivers with strong blocking ability, a reflection of the run-first offense the Ravens will continue to run in 2019.
