Is it time for Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome to retire?

This is such a touchy subject given that general manager Ozzie Newsome has been with the team since they were the Cleveland Browns and has brought in Hall of Fame players like Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis, and Ed Reed during his tenure as the leader of the draft. However, with a qualified candidate waiting in the wings and some of his latest picks not panning out as well as expected, maybe the Ravens are waiting for Newsome to step down and ride off into the sunset.

Arguably the best general manager in the business when evaluating his 20-year career with the Ravens, Ozzie Newsome has earned the ability to step down when he feels like it. So I'm not trying to push him out the door or anything, but it is definitely time to think about whether this should be the end for the Wizard of Oz.

By the 2016 draft, Ozzie will be 60 years old. I'm willing to bet you thought he was a lot older than that when you saw his picture. Numerous drafts, negotiations, and trying to find replacement players at the last second have clearly worn the man down.

I can understand it, the general manager position is a year round job. Right now is preparing for the draft, creating a board of prospects, looking at your own roster and salary cap situation, negotiating with the players you want to keep on board while trying to figure out if the price you have in your head is the right one or too expensive or cheap. Then when the season rolls around, you have to constantly evaluate not only your own players, but every other roster in the league and free agents to see if there is anyone better and to know who else is out there if they come available.

In seasons like this one, it has got to be one of the toughest jobs in the world. Players are going down left and right and it's your job to get replacements that can do the job or at least can team up with others to make a competent team.

Outside of Newsome's health, both physical and mental, comes a slide in his early draft selections.

Again, I'm not saying that Ozzie Newsome hasn't been a great general manager throughout his career, or even lately. So much goes into that job than just draft picks, but there has been no mistaking that some of his recent draft selections have been less than spectacular when they hit the field.

Looking at the 2015 draft class, it's a short list before you get to a disappointment. Rookie first-round wide receiver Breshad Perriman was a draft pick that fans were hot and cold on. Elite speed, but issues with concentration and dropping the ball saw him get selected at the 26th spot. The first day of training camp came, followed by an innocent looking fall on his knee, and that was the last we would see of Perriman.

One fourth round pick in 2015, cornerback Tray Walker, would also be a disappointment. In a season that had just about everyone able to put on cleats and a uniform get tried out in the secondary, Tray Walker never got a shot. Seriously, this was a squad that kept using Kyle Arrington throughout the entire season and traded for Will Davis and picked up Shareece Wright mid-season. The fact that Walker got no shot at seeing the field tells a lot about where the coaches thought he was at. He still has time to develop and by no means is he a bust, but he clearly wasn't ready in any capacity, despite a team that was ready to give chances to anyone.

Then going back into past drafts, there are the players like Terrence Brooks, Matt Elam, Arthur Brown, John Simon, Gino Gradkowski, Bernard Pierce, Christian Thompson, and Asa Jackson. All players that just refused to become anything other than potential for the team. Out of that group that goes includes 5 full drafts, only 3 of them are on the roster.... for now. Linebacker Arthur Brown and Matt Elam could easily see themselves jettisoned this offseason as the Ravens have given both a number of chances. Again, both could easily develop into rotational players or even starters, but not quite good enough for first and second round players.

Then you get into his track record with wide receivers. Players like Tandon Doss, Marcus Smith, Yamon Figurs, Demetrius Williams, Mark Clayton, Devard Darling, and quite a few others. Not exactly a list of Hall of Fame potential. Hell, it's not even a list of starters in the league.

Many will point to Torrey Smith as the guy Ozzie can hang his hat on and he definitely had his production, but for a second-round wide receiver, the Ravens should have turned him into more than a straight line speed player. You can see exactly how they felt about Smith, not trying to fight for him last offseason. Simply put, Smith was a guy that could be replaced relatively easily through the draft or free agency at a much lower cost.

Again, I want to point out that through his failures, there are players like C.J. Mosley, Brandon Williams, Javorius Allen, Maxx Williams, Crockett Gillmore, and Timmy Jernigan.

Eric DeCosta is sticking around because he knows the job is his when Ozzie Newsome is done. He's getting paid well and knows that the Ravens are an organization that will have his back. But every season, there is yet another team sniffing around looking to upgrade their team. DeCosta has so far not taken the bait, but how much longer will it be before one of the few great owners and organizations throws too much money at him? With yet another season in the books and without knowing how many still left before his promotion, it is possible he could be tempted to jump ship.

When you consider Newsome's age, the grind of the seasons on him, his heir apparent possibly getting impatient, and maybe a slip in his evaluation talent; it might be time to hand him a gold watch, his golf clubs and tell him it's been a great 20 years.