MORE BREAKING NEWS: Ravens Trade Clayton to Rams
by Bruce Raffel on Sep 6, 2010 3:38 PM EDT
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PrintThe moves are now coming fast and furious out of One Winning Drive, the Baltimore Ravens team headquarters. Fresh off the news that the team agreed to terms with WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, they just traded veteran WR Mark Clayton to the St. Louis Rams for an undisclosed late round draft pick.
Doubtful it will be anything other than a sixth or seventh pick although it could end up being some sort of conditional pick at best. The team was reportedly looking to deal him as soon as they acquired Houshmandzadeh and might have actually released him had they found no takers.
The Rams receiving corps took a hit this summer when top wideout Donnie Avery was lost for the season due to injury. Trading for Clayton gives him a new start and first overall draft pick Sam Bradford a solid target to throw to.
Best of luck and thanks for th efforts over the years to Mark Clayton.
See the quick story put up on National Football Post by Aaron Wilson.
(Updated: Read the Ravens official Press Release after the 'Jump')
Sept. 6, 2010
For Immediate Release
RAVENS AGREE TO TERMS WITH WR HOUSHMANDZADEH, TRADE WR CLAYTON
The Baltimore Ravens have agreed in principle to a deal with free agent WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh and traded WR Mark Clayton to the St. Louis Rams for an undisclosed draft pick, executive vice president/general manager Ozzie Newsome announced Monday afternoon.
Houshmandzadeh, who was released by the Seattle Seahawks this past Saturday, enters his 10th NFL season. The 6-2, 203-pounder played for the Seahawks in 2009 after spending the initial eight years of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals.
“The first things that pop out at you about T.J. are that he has been very productive and durable in his first nine years in the NFL,” Newsome stated. “Plus, we saw him more than we wanted making a lot of plays against us. We had interest in him a year ago when he first became a free agent before he signed with Seattle.
“He’s another proven weapon for our offense – a big receiver with good hands and toughness. The one other thing that every coach and player we talked with about him indicated is that T.J. is a driven player with an excellent work ethic.”
A 2007 Pro Bowler, Houshmandzadeh has posted 586 career receptions for 6,693 yards and 40 touchdowns. In 13 career games against the Ravens, he caught 77 passes for 987 yards and six touchdowns. In a contest at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 5, 2004, he posted a career-high 171 receiving yards on 10 receptions.
Houshmandzadeh, 32, has played in 121 career games (90 starts), including all 16 for the Seahawks last season when he had 79 catches for 911 yards and three touchdowns.
As for Clayton, Baltimore’s 2005 first-round pick (22nd overall), who owns a franchise-record nine 100-yard receiving games, Newsome added: “You never reach a point when it’s easy to release or trade a player you respect. Everyone here has the highest regard for Mark. He’ll help the Rams, and it’s good for him that they reached out to get him.
“Mark is a good person who did everything he could to help the Ravens on and off the field. In the end, we have to do what we think is best for the team, but letting Mark go hurts. He was first class all the way, even when we met with him about the trade. This is a tough part of the business.”
The Ravens will attempt to have Houshmandzadeh meet with the media in Baltimore on Tuesday, pending the passing of his physical. Additionally, the team will send out this week’s game release on Tuesday once Houshmandzadeh officially signs.
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Ravens are serious...
… about contending this year. Anymore roster moves today and my head may explode.
- Dedicated Raven since 2003 -
pretty funny
that his last play in a ravens jersey was a crushing blow that gave him a concussion.
"When you go in the lions den you don't tippy toe in, you carry a spear, you go in screaming like a banshee, you kick whatever doors in, and say, 'where's the son of a bitch. If you go in any other way your gonna lose." - Brian
Yeah, sad thing is that concussion didn’t come in the locker room after the Pats game…
by GrumpyOldBird on Sep 6, 2010 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions
I know
Somebody suggested we dress Clayton as QB3 in the Bye-Bye Troy thread the other day.
by GrumpyOldBird on Sep 6, 2010 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Adam Schefter's twitter
Filed to ESPN: Ravens are in serious trade discussions with the Oakland Raiders in acquiring CB Nnamdi Asomugha
The Orioles are going to open a can of Buck-Wieser on your ass......
by Zachary Beard on Sep 6, 2010 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Just kidding
The Orioles are going to open a can of Buck-Wieser on your ass......
by Zachary Beard on Sep 6, 2010 4:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Care to explain further?
The Orioles are going to open a can of Buck-Wieser on your ass......
by Zachary Beard on Sep 6, 2010 5:13 PM EDT up reply actions
I thought it was a Pittsburgh reporter.
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
Y didn’t they do this sooner. Tj is going to have to learn as he goes now.that’s the only thing I don’t like about this pickup. Clayton looked good during the preseason. Have fun in stl
by Raven_all_day on Sep 6, 2010 4:35 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
How long
is it gonna take for Madden updates to reflect these changes?
They say the empty can rattles the most...
Awesome
Looking forward to trying out this new look offense. TJ should be much easier to get the ball to than Clayton.
They say the empty can rattles the most...
He does have 4 inches on Mark and about 5 more years experience
A Ravens fan on the wrong side of the country!!
by Christopher Atwood on Sep 7, 2010 1:41 AM EDT up reply actions
is it safe to say clayton's a bust now?
a first round pick turns into an undisclosed late rounder? he wasn’t travis taylor, but he’s no number 1 or even number 2 either, and that’s what a first rounder should be, no?
He's a bust considering he was a first rounder
but it isn’t like he was an absolutely terrible player. He was a fair backup to Derrick and honestly I don’t think Housh is really all that much better.
by Roa on Sep 6, 2010 8:41 PM EDT up reply actions
not a bust
Matt Jones is a bust. Carlos Rodgers is a bust. These are guys who aren’t good enough to be in this league despite being drafted in the first round. Clayton, though he may not be a star, is clearly a capable NFL receiver who can help the Rams.
"Cam, we're not going to have any issues because we're going to be winning."
--Joe Flacco
"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden
Not a bust.
There have been lots of 1st round WR who have done far less to nothing compared to Clayton. His Ravens stats – while disappointing – are not “bust” worthy.
Games: 76
Receptions: 234 for 3,116 yards,
Per game: 3 receptions and 41 yds/game
TD: 12
1st Downs: 142
Not Pro Bowl caliber by far, but also not fair to call him a bust.
"What we've got here is failure to communicate."
i'd agree if he were a 2nd or 3rd rounder
and he’s not a detroit lions’ pre-megatron receiver, but he still seriously underperformed, especially in big games and big moments. most of his stats seemed to come from garbage games and garbage time.
Exactly
Although Ozzie seems to find his prizes in the middle of the draft, as a 1st rounder those stats say “bust”.
"Me no function beer welll without."
I completely agree with Luke E. If he were more consistent I wouldnt consider him a bust. Either way I wish him the best of luck in St Louis
- Dedicated Raven since 2003 -
Clayton's per catch average
was better than any other #2 WR in the league, including Boldin’s in 2009! But not worhty of #1 stats, which is what you want when you draft a guy in the first round.
aka 'Rexx'
Receiver is the hardest position to draft.
So while I agree with everything you said, underperforming for a 1st rounder is still not the definition of a bust.
A bust is out of the league in 2-3 years with nothing to show for it. Hell, Clayton even had some residual value after 5 years – even if it was a late round draft pick.
"What we've got here is failure to communicate."
wr busts
david terrell
mike williams
charles rogers
rashaun woods
sylvester morris
need i go on? those guys are busts. Clayton was an average starter. we gave him away because otherwise we would have cut him. his skills are redundant with tj, mase and q, and he is a FA after this season. if he was under contract for more than this year, we prob could have gotten a 5th for him. Wilson isn’t a bust just because he was a 2nd rounder who they traded for a conditional 5th rounder. He was a player who was going to walk after this season, and they aren’t winning this season so they traded him for what they could get.
http://footballproslive.com/showthread.php/734-WR-busts?p=11509
by Rayisyourdaddy on Sep 6, 2010 6:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Could I make a suggestion?
Change your avatar pic.
The Orioles are going to open a can of Buck-Wieser on your ass......
by Zachary Beard on Sep 6, 2010 8:24 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
late 1st rounder= essentially a 2nd rounder...
by Rayisyourdaddy on Sep 6, 2010 6:23 PM EDT up reply actions
that's just silly
you could also say an early 2nd rounder is essentially a 1st rounder. where do you draw the line? oh yeah, between the rounds.
Depending
on the depth of the draft, of course. Case-in-point: the “experts” calling Kindle and Cody essentially 1st rounders.
They say the empty can rattles the most...
late 1st rounders and early to mid 2nd rounders are often similar values. there are lines, but the difference btwn early 3rd and mid 2nd isnt large either.
by Rayisyourdaddy on Sep 6, 2010 6:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Relative
“Bust” is such a relative term. Would you call Kyle Boller a bust? Would you call Patrick Johnson a bust? Dwayne Starks? How about Dan Cody? I know he was a second rounder but with the hype surrounding his selection its hard to come up with a bigger Ravens draft bust than Dan Cody.
Each of these players was much more of a bust than Clayton.
They say the empty can rattles the most...
boller, absolutely, how do you not? patrick johnson was a 2nd rounder, i believe, so less of a bust. starks was not a bust, he was a starter on the best defense ever. cody got injured, didn’t he? injuries do not equal bust.
besides, i didn’t say he was the biggest bust we ever had.
I would say that
injuries do equal bust, but I’m sure you’d get lots of different answers on that if you asked a bunch of people. The bottom line, in Dan Cody’s case, is that the team invested a high pick and some significant money into him and got little to nothing in return.
I’d argue about Starks, because he was a 1st rounder yet he was far from a “#1” CB for the Ravens if my memory serves me correctly. How much of an impact did he have outside of the super bowl pick-six? So to me Starks was a bust by the same logic that would call Clayton a bust – for being a 1st rounder that failed to develop into a #1 WR.
Anyhow, I guess you’re right that you didn’t say Clayton was the “biggest” bust. Maybe I’m too quick to jump to Mark’s defense.
They say the empty can rattles the most...
no way injuries equal bust
it’s not the player’s fault and there’s no way to predict it. it just happens.
and i thought starks WAS our top CB that year, b/c CM was still young(er). he was good for us. not great, but good and solid and consistent, more than i can say for clayton. his inconsistency was maddening.
a bust
by definition is a player who does not perform at an average or above level for his position. a player who does not even play in the league is by definition a bust.
by Rayisyourdaddy on Sep 6, 2010 6:31 PM EDT up reply actions
whose definition is that? yours?
to me and many others, injuries are an exception to the so-called bust rule. it means you have no idea what the player actually would have done, b/c they never got a chance. i guess if a player dies before reaching potential, he’s a bust too? it’s just ridiculous.
thats just a tragedy!
so by your definition clayton, an average starter who gave us 5 solid yet unspectacular years is a bust and Cody who never made it into a game is not a bust? lol
by Rayisyourdaddy on Sep 6, 2010 6:35 PM EDT up reply actions
injuries that end a promising career aren't a tragedy?
have you ever been injured playing sports? you don’t have much control over it.
and clayton wasn’t solid. he was inconsistent. if you take his numbers on a whole, they may look solid, but if you actually watched the games, he vanished when it mattered and put up huge numbers in blowouts against the likes of the browns. he’s a middling bust, but a bust all the same.
is roy williams (cowboys) a bust? i think so, but he had one really good year for the lions. is bo jackson less great b/c he got injured and ended his career prematurely? i don’t think anyone would argue that.
someone dying is a tragedy on all leveils. someone having a career ending injury is just a tragedy to that sport. the guy can still get a real job, get married, and have kids. so no its not really a tragedy.
by Rayisyourdaddy on Sep 6, 2010 7:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Starks-
Not a bust. solid starter for us for several years. Looked much worse on other teams, but for us, he was a solid starter. Anything worse than a solid starter from a 1st rounder is a bust. Anyone in the top 10 who does not make at least 1 pro bowl is generally a bust unless he just plays at a high level for at least 5+ years but isnt quite pro-bowl caliber.
by Rayisyourdaddy on Sep 6, 2010 6:36 PM EDT up reply actions
I'd agree
Starks was solid for the Ravens, but didn’t they send him to Arizona after the 2000-2001 season? He was drafted in ‘98, so if I’m right that means he only played 3 seasons in Baltimore.
They say the empty can rattles the most...
Starks played 4 seasons for the Ravens
Drafted in 1998 and had 20 INT’s in the 4 years he played for us. After his rookie contract was done, he was signed as a FA by the Cardinals in 2001. Played well for them until he got hurt his second year and had 5 INT’s in his three years there. Then went to NE in 2004 but went on IR with another injury. Finished his career with the Raiders in 2007. Stayed in the league 9 years – no that is not a bust.
Dan Cody (I still have his jersey, at least unil I duct tape the 53 into a 63 and it becomes a Terrance Cody jersey) qualifies as a bust, injury or no injury. When you get released before your rookie deal is done, you are by definition a bust.
Mark Clayton completed his rookie deal and has played 5 years (this will be his 6th). Well above average length of career in the NFL. Out-performed more receivers drafted than those who out-performed him. Did he live up to high expectations? no. But any player who can stay productive in the NFL for 5/6 years can not be defined as a bust by any reasonable definition.
"What we've got here is failure to communicate."
CYA CLAYTON..
TJ is a great move and granted he doesn’t know the playbook,but Joes gonna tell him where to go and he’ll get there…Can you imagine..Flacco back to pass,Mason down and out on the sideline,Boldin on a post,Tj on a slant,Heap straight up the middle all of them are covered…OOPS screen pass to RICE…this is really gonna be fun to watch,GoRavens!!!
These guys are busts
Year Tm Rec Yds TD
1998 Marcus Nash DEN 4 76 0
1984 Clyde Duncan STL 4 39 1
2004 Rashaun Woods SFO 7 160 1
2000 R. Jay Soward JAX 14 154 1
1997 Yatil Green MIA 18 234 0
1981 David Verser CIN 23 454 3
1982 Perry Tuttle BUF 25 375 3
2003 Charles Rogers DET 36 440 4
2005 Mike Williams DET 44 539 2
2000 Sylvester Morris KAN 48 678 3
1997 Rae Carruth CAR 62 804 4
-—the McConkey Line (67 career catches) -———-
1982 Lindsay Scott NOR 69 864 1
1982 Anthony Hancock KAN 73 1266 5
1994 Thomas Lewis NYG 74 1032 5
1989 Hart Lee Dykes NWE 83 1344 7
2005 Troy Williamson MIN 87 1131 4
2001 Freddie Mitchell PHI 90 1263 5
1989 Shawn Collins ATL 98 1433 5
Good fit. And opportunity for him
by Raven_all_day on Sep 6, 2010 9:06 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Good for Mark
Will get a chance to shine in a new system with a new QB. Bradford is the real deal IMO and it will be nice for him to get a veteran like Clayton.
Always liked Mark. WR is the toughest position to live up to the first round pick other than QB, and at least Clayton was never a “bust.” Had a solid career in Baltimore for a team that has been relatively weak in the passing game.
Can’t wait to see what he will be able to do in St. Louis.
Demetrius Williams is trying out for The Rams as well and he may get signed.
Hmmmmm it would be something if Mark Clayton and Demetrius Williams have a great year as a Ram
i could def see it happening and both having a pretty solid year. I liked clayton, it sounds crazy but I’s prefer him over housh, something bothers me about that man
something bothers me about that man
Like what, that he used to destroy the Ravens then rub it in our faces? Yea, that pissed me off to. But now he will be doing that for us against others. Can’t wait to see that.
Except that
If he does, as a Raven, there’ll actually be penalties called for it. I mean if Mason gets a couple Unsportsmanlike’s a year…
by GrumpyOldBird on Sep 7, 2010 12:31 AM EDT up reply actions
It's
almost to the point where the only newsworthy component of Ozzie Newsome will be when he does something wrong, since it never happens. In short, nice job Ravens by picking up T.J. Houshmandzadeh. My Broncos visit October 10 and since Ed Reed won’t be back by then, I feel lucky. You guys are going to be really good. Smack the Squealers around for me. They tried to take out Kyle Orton, classless scumbags….. good luck against the Jets
Brad James
by the new Bradfather on Sep 7, 2010 12:52 AM EDT reply actions
Appreciate the kind words
Yea, we hate the squeallers. Ozzie is one of the best in the Biz and the Jets are big trouble. Their coach could be writing checks they are unable to cash.
TJ is a great WR to have for #3 or 4 WR
Sorry the man had over 900 yards last year and 70 receptions on what was considered a down year and anyone wants to comapre him and CLayton who was only over 900 once and then was never over 700 again? I think we will see a lot of zone coverages because how do you man to man this offense? Who do you double cover? Oh and don’t forget about the run… WIll be fun to watch. Sad we couldn’t have kept Troy because the wildcat would have been fun with his speed and both his and Joe’s abilities as athletes and the cast of players we have…
good point
there is really no comparison between TJ and Clayton. TJ is most obviously the superior receiver and has a chance to make our passing game truly intimidating. Like Asmodeus said, it’s starting to seem suicidal to go man-to-man against a Ravens 3-wide set. this will really slow down the pass rush. It will be a huge help to us on Monday now that Revis is back. CANT WAIT!!!!
"Cam, we're not going to have any issues because we're going to be winning."
--Joe Flacco
"Just win baby. Yeah, I stole that."
--Jon Gruden
Difference is
Housh doesn’t provide anything we don’t already have. Clayton was a decent deep threat guy.
by Roa on Sep 7, 2010 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Another one to watch
WR David Reed, he will be a beast and I think he will be everything Clayton wasn’t. I see big things out of this guy.
Wishing Mark well!
Mark Clayton was a classy player. He never quite lived up to his potential but still he was a class act on the team. Tended to disappear too much in games and and that is just not something we can have. TJ will make his presence felt immediately. Look for big things from him. He definitely has better hands than Clayton. So good luck in St Louis Mark! Also best to Troy on SF. Hope he does well!
i dont get why people keep saying clayton had bad hands. he rarely dropped any passes. in fact, he catches the ball with his hands most of the time (instead of letting it bounce off his chest). the only thing i dont like about him is that he does disappears during big games.
i dont get why people keep saying clayton had bad hands.
It seems like a lot of people are really fixating on that one play against New England. As far as I know, that was really his only big time drop. His separation issues were a much bigger problem, which lead to the disappearing act you mentioned.
Water covers 2/3 of the Earth's surface. Ed Reed covers the rest.
My impression
is that many ppl are using that drop as an example of his inability to show up in big games. I agree that I can’t really remember many drops, but I also can’t remember many big game catches. I think Ampallang said it in this or a different article
… so that dropped pass is really a huge reminder of his entire career.I agree; that one play is a bit of a microcosm of Clayton’s career. While Clayton definitely isn’t characterized by poor hands, he has been ridiculously unreliable. When it comes to games and individual plays that matter (such as the game-winning drive against New England), it’s best for the quarterback to look elsewhere. That play sticks out in a lot of fans’ minds because it puts an easily recognizable face on Clayton’s career.
"Believe me, I know the save rule and, quite frankly, it doesn’t carry much weight with me. I like the win rule a little bit better."
by organizedchaos52 on Sep 7, 2010 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions
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