3:54pm: Powers’ new one-year deal with the Ravens is worth $1.75MM, tweets Ian Rapoport.
1:58pm: The Ravens have agreed to terms on a deal with free agent cornerback Jerraud Powers, reports Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (via Twitter). It will be a one-year deal for Powers, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
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Powers, 28, spent the first four years of his NFL career in Indianapolis before making a move to Arizona in 2013. He spent the last three seasons with the Cardinals. Having started 82 of his 87 career regular-season games, the former third-round pick had been one of the more accomplished cornerbacks still available on the free agent market.
In 2015, Powers started 13 games for the Cardinals, picking up an interception to go along with 50 tackles, nine passes defended, and a pair of fumble recoveries. However, Pro Football Focus wasn’t overly high on his play, ranking him 79th out of 111 qualified cornerbacks, assigning him mediocre grades for both his pass coverage and run defense.
During the legal tampering period in March, Powers told Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com that he’d like to sign a three- or four-year deal, and hoped to join a title contender. While he visited the Giants and Cardinals, Powers didn’t see his market develop as he hoped, and has now had to settle for a one-year pact with a team hoping to rebound in 2016.
From the Ravens’ perspective, it’s no surprise that the team would wait until now to add a veteran cornerback like Powers. Baltimore has always prioritized gathering as many compensatory draft picks as possible, and as of Thursday, teams can sign veteran free agents without it affecting the comp-pick formula for 2017.
The Ravens re-signed Shareece Wright earlier in the offseason, and still have Jimmy Smith penciled in at one of their starting cornerback spots, but with Lardarius Webb making the move to safety, the team had been on the lookout for another corner to fortify the position.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.