There could soon be a veteran addition to the Ravens’ young wide receiver corps. Though it’s not clear when he’ll be ready to play, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was recently added to the practice squad and could be added to the active roster in the future.
Former Ravens wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who played with the team in 2017, says Bryant will be a good addition to the team whenever he is put on the active roster.
“You can never have too many [receivers]. Having these guys progress, having these guys get better is definitely going to be key,” Maclin said on Glenn Clark Radio Oct. 30. “At the same time, in the meantime, you know you have [Bryant], who has been there, who has been successful, not afraid of the big stage, not afraid of the spotlight. … You don’t really have to develop who he is. You know who he is, and I think that’s something you can rely on.”
Bryant, 31, has posted 7,459 career receiving yards and has caught 73 touchdowns in 113 games. A first-round pick in 2010, Bryant is a three-time Pro Bowler and was a first-team All-Pro selection in 2014.
“First and foremost, he’s a ballplayer. I think ballplayers always find a way to tweak their game a little bit to be successful. He’s always going to have a big catch radius. He’s always going to have a good pair of hands. He’s always going to be able to physically put his body in position to be successful,” Maclin said. “Throwing him into the mix can only make your team better. … In this league, you truly cannot have enough weapons.”
Bryant has not played in an NFL game since 2017 when he started in all 16 games for the Cowboys. He suffered a season-ending injury when he tore his Achilles during his second practice with the New Orleans Saints in November 2018. He spent 2019 rehabbing and was working out on his own before the Ravens signed him.
“I applaud Dez for not signing before he was ready. I think people don’t really understand the mental space you have to be in to be able to go out there and perform at your highest level. … At the end of the day, if your mental [state] is right, you can do anything you want to do,” Maclin said. “But, if it’s not right, I think once that goes away, then all of the sudden the things that you normally do to keep your body [right] also go away, and that’s what leads to more and more problems.”
The Ravens young wide receiver corps includes Marquise Brown, who has caught 27 passes for 379 yards and two touchdowns this season, as well as Miles Boykin (13, 142 and 1) and Devin Duvernay (11, 129 and 0). Willie Snead, 28, was the oldest receiver on the team prior to the addition of Bryant. Snead had a big game against the Steelers, leading the team in targets and catches and posting 106 receiving yards.
“You can never have too many weapons. … I like Boykin, but it doesn’t hurt to have another guy alongside Hollywood,” Maclin said. “You get Dez, who’s probably the opposite of Hollywood when you talk about receiver types and another trustworthy pass catcher for Lamar [Jackson].”
The Ravens fell to 5-2 after the messy loss to the Steelers Nov. 1. Baltimore piled up 457 yards of offense, but Jackson lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions, which contributed to the loss.
“I think that people need to relax a little bit and understand the whole landscape of everything,” Maclin said about the Ravens’ chances of making a Super Bowl appearance. “Baltimore’s going to be there in the end. It’s going to be Baltimore. It’s going to be [Kansas City]. It’s going to be one or two other teams — maybe Pittsburgh, maybe some other teams in the AFC can be there in the end, but I think they’ll be just fine.”
For more from Maclin, listen to the full interview here:
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