After signing Jeremy Maclin this week, the Ravens are focused on upgrading their offensive line rather than adding another wide receiver such as Eric Decker or Anquan Boldin, franchise owner Steve Bisciotti told reporters, including Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
“If I don’t get an offensive lineman, somebody is going to start shooting at me. If I have one bullet left in that gun, I better save it for an offensive lineman,” Bisciotti said. “I think right now, we have a lot of confidence in Chris Moore to be our fourth wideout and let the competition begin with the fifth and sixth wideout. [Michael] Campanaro, as you know, has to stay healthy and Keenan Reynolds is developing. Chris Matthews is doing some nice things in camp and did nice things last year in camp.
I’d say that I don’t think that we have room for a starter at wide receiver now and I do think there’s going to be some talent out there that could challenge for a starting position on our offensive line. I think I’m going to save that last punch for an offensive lineman.”
Baltimore currently boasts Maclin, Mike Wallace, and former first-round pick Breshad Perriman as its top three wideouts, but that group certainly comes with question marks. Before releasing him, the Chiefs were reportedly concerned Maclin, who signed a two-year deal with the Ravens, had “lost a step”, as Zrebiec writes in a separate piece. Like Maclin, Perriman has dealt with injuries in the recent past, as he missed his entire rookie campaign before posting 33 receptions a season ago.
As Bisciotti alludes to, Baltimore could use another lineman (especially on the interior), and one free agent to whom the club has been linked — former Jets center Nick Mangold — is still available. The two sides are reportedly in a holding pattern, and Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com suggested last month that Mangold may want more money than the Ravens are willing to offer.