Ravens Have Agreed In Principle To A Deal With Benjamin Watson

Well this is an interesting signing to say the least. And by that, I mean one I totally didn’t expect. There were some reports that the Ravens were going to be in the market for a veteran TE in free agency, especially after the 10 game suspension was handed out to Nick Boyle. But never did I think it’d be a name like Ben Watson. In fact, as soon as I saw that Owen Daniels had been released earlier today, I thought he’d be a natural fit (as long as he doesn’t retire) given that, ya know, he was a Raven just 365 days ago. Plus he wouldn’t have factored into the formula for draft pick compensation because he had been released.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m not all that wild about this signing.  I mean, I get it. Crockett Gillmore is coming off surgery on BOTH of his shoulders, Boyle is suspended, and Dennis Pitta is sure to be cut when his cap hit drops in June. Tight end is on the checklist for this offseason, especially given how much Trestman’s offense favors them. I just think that Maxx Williams is poised to do big things in 2016, and Gillmore really made a nice jump last year. Even if both of those guys are injury prone, I don’t think this was a high enough priority to rush out and sign one right away. Scott Chandler, Owen Daniels, a number of other names could’ve worked here and not cost us the compensation pick we’re set to gain with Courtney Upshaw going to Indy. We’ll see what the terms of this contract are, and Ben Watson will be a productive player with the Ravens, but this one leaves me scratching my head a bit.

PS: Licking my chops at this news. Meet me in Deep Ball City at the corner of Flacco and Wallace.