Ravens make right decision with Marquise Brown’s 5th-year option

Ravens, Marquise Brown (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
Ravens, Marquise Brown (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images) /
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The Baltimore Ravens knew that they were going to have to make a decision regarding the future of wide receiver Marquise Brown this offseason.

Brown still has one year left on his rookie contract, but the Ravens will have to decide whether or not they want to pick up his fifth-year option within the coming months.

There were some rumblings that the Ravens wouldn’t, but following a career year in 2021, general manager Eric DeCosta seemingly put to bed those rumors.

DeCosta was straightforward when discussing his plans regarding Brown indicating that the team planned to exercise his fifth-year option, keeping him under contract at least through the 2023 season.

Ultimately, this was the correct decision for the franchise.

"“I think very highly of Marquise. I think he’s a talent. I love his personality and his competitiveness and his passion. … I like his energy that he brings and quite honestly, for his skill set, for what he brings to the table, the fifth-year option, in my mind, if you look at receivers and what they’re making now, it looks like a bargain. He’s just a nice piece, and honestly, if we didn’t bring him back, we’d be trying to find another receiver.”"

The Ravens are right to pick up Marquise Brown’s fifth-year option

Brown’s NFL career got off to a rocky start. Battling injury and drop concerns, Brown’s first two seasons with the Ravens were inconsistent, to say the least.

He entered the 2021 season looking to put his inconsistencies behind him, and his performance over the first half of the season seemed to indicate that he had done so.

Brown was on a legitimate Pro Bowl pace over the first nine weeks of the season hauling in 46 catches for 682 yards and six touchdowns in his first eight games. His production sharply decreased after that, however.

Brown still became the first Ravens wide receiver to reach 1,000 yards in a season since Mike Wallace in 2016 as he finished with 91 catches for 1,008 yards. He was undoubtedly affected by the absence of Lamar Jackson, but it’s safe to say his second half of the season was a disappointment.

Even following Brown’s impressive season, there were still some who believed the Ravens should decline his fifth-year option, projected to be worth roughly $12.9 million. But picking it up was the obvious and correct decision.

At the time of writing, there are 16 wide receivers projected to have cap hit higher than $13 million in 2022. That number will only rise over the course of the next year.

NFL.com’s Marc Ross recently took a look at every 2019 first-round pick and discussed whether or not their organization should exercise their fifth-year option. For Brown, he gave the Ravens a resounding “yes.”

While an extension should probably be avoided for the time being, picking up his option presents a much smaller risk — one that’s absolutely worth it.

Of the 32 first-round picks in 2018, 10 of them did not have their first-round options picked up. The vast majority of those players were total busts with a number of them not on the same team that drafted them anymore (Josh Rosen, Billy Price, Mike Hughes, etc.).

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This isn’t a Hayden Hurst situation. Marquise Brown may not be a true No. 1 wide receiver, but he’s more than capable and absolutely worth the 2023 price tag.

The Ravens made the right decision.