NFL: Gary Barnidge an obvious candidate for Baltimore Ravens
Injuries and suspensions are wreaking havoc to the Baltimore Ravens depth chart, and there’s one player on the NFL free agency market who can help provide support
Shortly after losing Dennis Pitta to another dislocated hip the Baltimore Ravens are once again looking for help at the tight end position.
Veteran Darren Waller has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating the substance abuse policy, and the once-promising Maxx Williams could miss time following knee surgery.
With no Pitta, Waller, or Williams to start the season, Baltimore may need to dip their wings back into the free agency market. Target number one: former rival Gary Barnidge.
Released by the Cleveland Browns shortly after the NFL Draft, the 31-year-old Barnidge has gotten little attention on the open market. Jacksonville, Denver, Buffalo, and Carolina have reportedly been in communication with the former Brown, who lost his job to first-round pick David Njoku from Miami.
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If Baltimore goes into the season without adding any tight ends, they’re left with veteran Ben Watson, Crockett Gilmore, and Nick Boyle, who combined to catch only 14 passes last season. Watson is coming off an achillies injury and recently took a pay cut to stay on the Ravens roster.
Gilmore is also incredibly injury prone, something we saw last season.
At 31-years-old Barnidge won’t bring as big a spark Jeremy Maclin projects to have with the Ravens. Going into his ninth NFL season Barnidge has only missed four NFL games and has started 29 of his last 32 appearances. It’s a model of health and consistency the Ravens desperately need if they plan to make a deep run this year.
The model of consistency also comes in the form of ball protection with Barnidge, who hasn’t been credited with a fumble since 2009.
In his final season for the Browns, Barnidge caught 67% of the passes thrown his direction, better than Rob Gronkowski, Delanie Walker, Kyle Rudolph, and Greg Olson.
Barnidge certainly isn’t due for a major payday either, something Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome is immune of. With approximately $4 million in cap space remaining Newsome will likely offer contracts based more on incentives going forward.
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Barnidge won’t be the flashy guy picked up by Baltimore this year, but with Waller, Pitta, and Williams out for the foreseeable future help is needed for Joe Flacco. If the Ravens want to compete in a fierce AFC North and win their first playoff game since the 2014 Wild Card series, they’ll need a reliable veteran such as Barnidge on their side.