Ravens: 4 remaining free agents who have connections to Baltimore
By Justin Fried
3. Ravens free agent target: Tavon Austin (WR)
This one is admittedly a loose connection, sure. Tavon Austin has never played for the Ravens. He doesn’t have any notable ties to the coaching staff. He doesn’t even have any noteworthy former teammates on the roster.
But what he does have going for him is that he was born and raised in Baltimore, attending Dunbar High School where he first made a name for himself.
Is the hometown connection enough to convince the Ravens to take a look? Perhaps not. But if it at least gets his foot in the door, perhaps they could consider bringing him in for a workout.
The seventh overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Austin has hung around in the NFL despite never reaching the expectations that were placed on him by the Rams.
He’s primarily served as a key special teamer and return man over the last few years, having not contributed regularly on offense since his time in Los Angeles.
The Ravens bolstered their wide receiver room in the offseason signing Sammy Watkins and adding Rashod Bateman and Tylan Wallace in the draft.
They also have the promising Devin Duvernay who impressed as a returner in his rookie season. The Ravens certainly don’t need Tavon Austin.
But as extra receiver and returner depth, he could be worth bringing into camp. There’s no guarantee he’d make the final roster (it’s hard to imagine he would, barring injury), but why not add some extra speed?