Ravens: 3 reasons why Baltimore surprisingly traded CB Shaun Wade
By Justin Fried
The Baltimore Ravens made the somewhat surprising decision to trade rookie cornerback Shaun Wade to the New England Patriots on Thursday.
Before he could ever even suit up for an NFL game with the team that drafted him, Wade was sent packing in a move that left many scratching their heads.
Why would the Ravens give up on a player they selected 160th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft less than four months ago? Especially a player with as high of a ceiling as Wade.
Wade was once seen as one of the best young cornerbacks in college football and a potential first-round draft pick. Unfortunately, a disastrous junior season tanked his draft stock in 2020.
Ohio State opted to move Wade to the boundary and play him at outside cornerback, a move that proved to be an issue for both the team and the player.
Wade struggled mightily as he was the only FBS player to allow 30 or more completions, 500 or more receiving yards, and six or more touchdown catches in 2020.
Still, the Ravens believed that Wade could rediscover his pre-2020 form with a move back to his natural position in the NFL. Evidently, that notion didn’t come to fruition in Baltimore.
But what led to this? What happened to make the Ravens give up on Wade as quickly as they did?
We take a look at three reasons why the Ravens traded Shaun Wade.