NFL Trade Deadline: How Baltimore Ravens Could Cap Off Roster
Bring him back?
Earlier this week, my colleague Chris Schisler took a look at why the Ravens should make a move for Giants tight end Evan Engram, but what about reuniting with a familiar face instead?
Hurst, of course, requested a trade last offseason in order to get more playing time, and was shipped to the Falcons for a pick that would ultimately turn into J.K. Dobbins. But the offense has lacked its same potency without a true three-headed monster at the tight end spot, and Atlanta’s season has already gone in the toilet with both Thomas Dimitroff and Dan Quinn being shown the door.
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What more logical way to help kick start the offense than to return another piece from the unit that was so successful a season ago? No other player available, other than maybe fellow former Raven Seth Roberts, would come in as familiar with the Baltimore playbook as Hurst, and with just a ~$1.4-million cap charge for the rest of the season, he would be as financially plausible as just about any player on the market.
Facing the realities of a potential post-Matt Ryan Falcons team, and the losing they are already enduring even now, would likely warm Hurst up to the idea of reverting to his lesser role on a team with Super Bowl aspirations, and he would almost certainly cost less than what the Falcons gave to acquire him in the offseason.
With Tavon Young, Iman Marshall, and Anthony Averett all out with injuries, the Ravens are suddenly lacking much in the way of depth at corner beyond their elite tandem of Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters. King comes in as a high-caliber slot corner that would instantly bolster the pass protection, and would also free up Jimmy Smith to be used more regularly in his preferred hybrid role than as a true third corner.
With King on the last year of his rookie deal, he carries just a $2.23-million cap hit according to OverTheCap, which would allow him to fit onto the roster without too much financial maneuvering, and King’s rental status and limitations as a pure slot corner would both make him a high-impact acquisition that would likely not cost much draft capital
Baltimore just added an elite pass rusher in Ngakoue, and if pass rushers are the best Christmas presents you can give to corners, good pass protection is the best gift you can give your new pass rusher.