Ravens CB Shareece Wright is proof that preseason football isn’t meaningless

At the start of the 2016 season, when the Baltimore Ravens went through its preseason sessions, Ravens cornerback Shareece Wright did not play very well on the field. There were times during the preseason where Wright left too much of a cushion between himself and the opposing receiver, along with a bit of hesitation and it cost him on a consistent basis.

Opposing quarterbacks were attacking Wright’s side of the field during the preseason and the same is happening during the regular season. People can say that Wright and the Ravens defense were playing vanilla so the team didn’t want to give up any information. That may be true, but that still doesn’t mean that cornerbacks are being told to allow big plays even during the preseason.

The one thing that many know about Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is that he likes his team to play hard and compete no matter what it is. Harbaugh wants his team to win games even in meaningless preseason games because winning breeds winning. So every player on the field is playing hard for Harbaugh during those circumstances which is why Wright’s play so far this season is alarming.

We know Wright is trying his best and he is arguably the best run stopping cornerback on the roster, but his best right now in coverage isn’t good enough. Wright so far this season has allowed five touchdown passes ( one vs. Browns, two vs. Jaguars and two vs. Raiders) and if this continues, the Ravens can’t afford to keep him as a starter for very long.

The Ravens have made cornerback Will Davis inactive for the first four games of the regular season and Davis was actually productive for a decent portion of the preseason. Before Davis tore his ACL during the 2015 season, in his limited time on the field with the Ravens after being traded for from the Miami Dolphins, he looked like a bright spot in a secondary that was struggling severely.

Wright has a chance to redeem himself this Sunday against a dangerous Washington Redskins passing offense and if he doesn’t, the Ravens have to make changes.