Kenyan Drake signed a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens after he was a flop for the Las Vegas Raiders. Drake signed for cheap and mainly was supposed to be insurance for J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, who were coming back from injury.
Should Baltimore Ravens re-sign Kenyan Drake?
Thank goodness the Ravens did sign him, because both players had ups and downs in their rehab back, and the team absolutely needed Kenyan Drake. Drake had 109 rushes for 482 yards last season, and that included some explosive runs.
The good news for the Ravens is that they may be able to be patient with this decision. Drake is going to be 30 years old next season, and just so happens to be entering free agency during a time when there are heaps of running backs.
The Ravens waited until after the draft last season to bring in Drake, and Drake is not going to have a stronger market this year, despite the bounce back. It was not enough, and the other names in the market will drown him out.
If the Ravens want some depth at running back, a late-round pick or even UDFAs may be available and may make an impact. Of course, missing on some of those names is why they had to sign Drake.
Still, that should be the plan again this season. Dobbins and Edwards have questions and are the only running backs signed so far, but they are both much healthier this season than they were last season.
The Baltimore Ravens have two running backs and can go into the NFL draft with at least a thought that if a late-round pick is there, they could still go running back. Still, the key could be the UDFA pool. If they bring the UDFAs into OTAs, and they do not look up to par, the team will move on, and Kenyan Drake could be available.
So we cannot write off the reunion. However, it may be fair to think that the Baltimore Ravens will not re-sign Kenyan Drake until after the NFL Draft. If Drake does sign before then, they may miss him, but there will be other options.