Ravens expected to work out free agent WR Dez Bryant this week
The Baltimore Ravens have reportedly been in the market to add another veteran at the wide receiver position for quite some time and while some fans and prognosticators have linked the organization to mercurial seven-time Pro Bowler Antonio Brown, the team is expected to host a different perennial Pro Bowler for a workout sometime this week when Dez Bryant comes to town.
According to NFL Network’s Jane Slater and Tom Pelissero, the former Dallas Cowboys star wideout is expected to travel to Baltimore later this week for a workout per informed sources close to the situation.
Slater also reported that Bryant himself reached out to Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh prior to this past April’s draft about potentially coming in for a workout and recently reached out once again.
From all the videos of him working out on various different fields that he has been disseminating on social media for the past two years, Bryant appears to be fully recovered from his torn Achilles that cut his very brief stint with the New Orleans Saints in 2018 short in his first practice and in incredible shape.
He’s been training in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has been filmed catching passes from his former quarterback and Cowboys’ teammate Dak Prescott as well as reigning Superbowl MVP Patrick Mahomes at different times this offseason.
Harbaugh was asked about the reports of Bryant coming in for a workout during his virtual press conference with reporters and wasn’t exactly forthcoming with any information regarding a potential signing and actually didn’t confirm that a workout is even happening at all.
“My only comment I have is we’re not commenting on workouts. We’re looking everywhere at everybody all the time. Whoever we bring in, once the workout happens, I’m sure that will be announced.”
Bryant hasn’t played a snap in the regular season since his last year in Dallas during the 2017 season. The Cowboys released the former First-Team All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler in the spring of 2018. He never got to see the field after signing a one-year deal with the Saints later that year and he watched the entire 2019 season from home after not signing with a team.
The 31-year-old pass-catcher has had no intention of retiring during his hiatus away from meaningful play and sat out all of last season to get fully healthy from his injury before attempting to come back.
It wasn’t that long ago that Bryant was one of the most dominant receivers in the league and was in the conversation for the best in the game at one point. During his first eight years in the league playing for “America’s Team”, he racked up 7,459 receiving yards and 73 touchdowns. His best stretch came during a three-year period from 2012-2014 where he recorded three straight seasons of over 1,200 yards receiving—3935 in total—and 41 scores.
He no longer possesses the same game-breaking and field-stretching speed, explosiveness off the line, or the ability to sperate that he once had in his heyday. However, at 6-foot-2 and around 220 pounds with a huge catch radius, Bryant can still be an assist as big-bodied possession receiver that can move the chains and pose a threat in the red zone with his ability to box-out smaller defenders and catch the ball at the highest point.
Bryant had a chance to join the Ravens after he was cut by the Cowboys back in 2018 but rebuffed their contract offer and the team instead signed veteran receivers Micheal Crabtree and John Brown that offseason instead. It worked out well for Baltimore that year since the duo combined for over 1,300 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
This time around it is Bryant who is in need of an opportunity and the Ravens already have plenty of youth and speed at the position with second-year receivers Marquise Hollywood Brown and Miles Boykin as well as rookies Devin Duvernay and James Proche, but they still could benefit from another veteran presence at the position and reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson could always use another weapon in the passing game even if he isn’t what he once was.
