CUP OF JOE: Make a Play for Pickens?

ESPN Reporter Suggests Pickens for The Ravens

For those of you who pay close attention to the Ravens and are dialed into those covering the team, you’ve probably at times listened to reports or opinions from national sports journalists discussing the Ravens and thought, “What are they talking about? That’s not true!”

If that sounds like you it’s probably because you know that a beat reporter like Jeff Zrebiec or Jamison Hensley are out at The Castle every day. They are dialed into the team and are intimately familiar with the personalities and inner workings of the team. Simply put, you just trust them if for no other reason because they are there more.

Baltimore is no different than any NFL town in this regard. If you want to know what is really going on with Ravens’ opponents or around the league, find out who the beat reporters are for said team of interest. Their insight is more valuable than that of the national guys. It’s not because the national guys aren’t good, they are. But it’s a lot easier to really know one team than it is to know 32 teams.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler provided a perfect example recently, when he tied soon-to-be free agent WR George Pickens to the Ravens to help boost Baltimore’s offense. Fowler went on to say that if Pickens does hit the market, “the Ravens could use some of their $40 million in 2026 cap space on Pickens, knowing John Harbaugh is good at managing big personalities.”

While it may be true that the Ravens will have $40M in cap space on the surface, what Fowler ignores is the fact that the Ravens currently have only 36 players under contract for 2026. So, they’re 17 players short of a 53-man squad. What this figure also fails to consider if they pursue Pickens are expenses for:

• Practice Squad
• Rainy day fund of $6M for needed replacement players due to injuries
• Another $5M or so set aside for an in-season trade or two
• Possible incentives that have been earned but not yet accounted for

Plus, there are other more pressing needs than wide receiver. If 2025 taught us anything (and hopefully the Raven personnel department as well) the Ravens are seriously deficient across the offensive line and at edge rusher. If EDC is going to be play in the free agent space to repair those areas, it will be expensive.

That $40M in cap space that Fowler points out, will evaporate faster than Odell Beckham, Jr.’s $100M in career earnings.

Sure, Pickens would be a huge addition from a talent perspective, but the team just has too many other needs to even consider him, much less afford a player who will undoubtedly seek top-of-the-market money.

As for Harbaugh being able to manage big personalities, I 100% agree. Whenever he gets one, he manages to have him shipped out of town.

[Previous Cup of Joe: Odafe Oweh is Free at Last!]

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