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Every year the Baltimore Ravens are said to be rebuilding from the veteran team that they have carried for so long. The team has consisted of a strong core of players over this time and sometimes it is hard to tell who is on the inner part of the core and who is on the outer part.
Over the past few seasons we have learned that Kelly Greg, Jarret Johnson, Derrick Mason, Willis McGahee and countless other "key" players for the Ravens have fallen outside the core. This is because the core is ever changing and only those in the inner depths of the Ravens organization really know who is still a part of the teams plans heading forward.
This season you could make a strong case for the word rebuilding to be used. the Ravens have lost their veteran leaders on both offense in Anquan Boldin and defense in Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. They also lost their number one corner from last season and their most consistent linebacker. Not mention 2012's leading pass rusher Paul Kruger.
On the other hand they have brought in strong veteran talent in Marcus Spears and Chris Canty and they have a whopping 12 draft picks to work with this year so maybe re-tooling is yet again the relevant term. Re-tooling will absolutely be the term to use if Baltimore is able to pull off the signing of Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil is a Pro Bowl defensive end in the prime of his career and would greatly bolster the Ravens pass rush and defense as a whole if he were to be paired with former Defensive Player Of The Year Terrell Suggs.
The Ravens may work out a way to sing Dumervil and they may not. Does either option make a difference as to whether the team is rebuilding or re-tooling? The Ravens will add another pass rusher one way or an other. They are looking at safety Michael Huff from the Oakland Raiders to replace Ed Reed and they are most certainly not finished putting this team together by any means at this point. The only time we will be able to tell if this is a rebuilding year or just another Ravens off season re-tooling will be during the 2013 season when we see the final product take the field and play meaningful football.