Ravens should want to to re-sign Anthony Averett in the offseason

The Baltimore Ravens turned lemons into lemonade with all their injuries this season, but their sweetest concoction so far has proved to be cornerback Anthony Averett.

After losing Marcus Peters to a season-ending injury in September, the Ravens knew their secondary would be climbing an uphill battle all year. When Baltimore also lost Marlon Humphrey, their defensive backfield issues got even worse.

When push came to shove, the team has depended on fourth-year corner Anthony Averett, and he has yet to heavily disappoint.

Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report recently revealed a list of one player every NFL team should want to re-sign in free agency, factoring in a club’s positional depth, player age, and injury history.

For Baltimore, Averett made the list.

"“Because of Marlon Humphrey’s ability to play in the slot, the Ravens can re-sign Averett and line him up on the outside opposite Peters for a strong cornerback trio. If the front office prefers to move on from Peters, who will look to bounce back from a significant injury in a contract year with a $15.5 million cap hit, Averett can replace him on the boundary. With only one full season as a starter, he would have a lower cap hit than the two-time All-Pro.”"

For the majority of the season, Averett has been tested the most of any Ravens corner.

Opponents knew Averett, given his relative inexperience, served as the defense’s weak link and more frequently targeted him as opposed to then-starter Marlon Humphrey.

The Ravens should consider re-signing Anthony Averett in 2022

Yet under all that pressure, Averett has performed admirably in the secondary, leading the team in interceptions (three) and recording the second-most pass breakups (11).

Averett suffered a fractured rib in Baltimore’s most recent matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 16, and his status for Week 17 remains unknown.

Without Averett, though, the Ravens showed just how vulnerable they were against Joe Burrow’s mighty passing attack — Baltimore allowed Burrow to throw for 525 yards and four touchdowns.

Burrow, on his part, continued throwing deep passes well into the fourth quarter, when the game was already decided, but regardless the Bengals offense caught the Ravens with their pants down all game.

If the Ravens ink Averett to a new contract, the team would have two exceptional cornerbacks along with Averett, who could grow into a franchise player in future seasons.

As Moton notes, Averett would also come at a considerably cheaper price than, say, Marcus Peters. With Peters coming back from a torn ACL, it’s far from a guarantee that he’s at 100 percent to start the year either.

Re-signing Anthony Averett makes sense for all the obvious reasons, and given Baltimore’s streak of bad luck, the team will likely need him just as much next year.