The Baltimore Ravens acquired wide receiver Anquan Boldin in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals, then lost defensive tackle Justin Bannan to the Denver Broncos.
Bannan was attracted to the Broncos because he is from the area and played for Colorado in college. It also presents a starting opportunity for a team desperate for help stopping the run up front.
Had he returned to the Ravens, Bannan once again would have found himself coming off the bench behind starters Haloti Ngata and Kelly Gregg. Bannan was an underrated part of the Ravens defense, especially during the 2008 season when Gregg missed the entire year with a knee injury.
He becomes just the latest free agent to sign with the Ravens, benefit from being a part of such a great defense, and then turn that into a nice contract and opportunity in another setting.
To make up for the loss of Bannan, the Ravens have signed defensive tackle Lamar Divens, who missed all of last season with a hip injury. The Ravens like his potential as he showed promise as a rookie two years ago.
The Ravens will also now look to retain Dwan Edwards, which always appeared to be more likely than keeping Bannan. Edwards is young and more versatile than Bannan, but he too is garnering attention from other teams.
It's always hard to lose a tough player and good teammate like Bannan, but the Ravens have made it known that they want to move away from the one-dimensional run-stuffers and try to bring in more versatile defensive tackles that can put pressure on the quarterback. The team has also made it clear that they want to get younger, especially on the defensive side.
In other free agent news pertaining to the Ravens, wide receiver Kevin Walter re-signed with the Houston Texans just hours after Baltimore traded for Anquan Boldin. It was unlikely that the Ravens would sign Walter after bringing in Boldin, but the remaining free agent possibilities have dwindled quickly at the wide receiver position.
The Ravens will now likely turn their attention to re-signing Derrick Mason, trying to retain a few of their free agents, and then preparing to continue to improve the team through the NFL Draft. However, it appears the Ravens are willing to wait out Mason and hope he will come back to them on a contract more to their liking.
Comments