Baltimore Ravens - James Ihedigbo reunion not ideal

Free Safety has been one of the more prevalent needs for the post-Super Bowl XLVII Ravens, as they are still looking for a worthy successor to Ed Reed, with all of the free safeties the team brought in fitting into 2 categories: one year stopgap players or developmental prospects such as Terrence Brooks. One of those former Ravens safeties will probably be available for the Ravens to acquire in free agency this March.

James Ihedigbo's two-year contract with the Detroit Lions is about to expire in March and the idea of bringing back the former Raven sounds like a tempting one, especially to those who wished that the Ravens were able to retain Ihedigbo back in 2014. But it's not in the best interest of the Ravens and it won't solve the back-end problems that have plagued the Ravens for the past few years.

To start, Ihedigbo isn't the rangy, ballhawk that the Ravens could use in the secondary. He struggled with the deep ball when he was a starter in 2013 and I doubt that being two years older is going to fix that issue. Second. Ihedigbo is no longer a starting caliber safety. He was a worthy starter in 2013 for the Ravens and the Lions in 2014, but he was benched by the Lions for Isa Abdul-Quddus midway through the season after the Lions went 1-7 to start the season. And third, Ihedigbo would be making the secondary older, not younger. The Ravens need young talent in the secondary and James Ihedigbo is 32. At the very best, he would be a stop-gap player, something that the Ravens already have in Kendrick Lewis.

Some Ravens fans might want the team to pursue the former Raven in free agency this year. But spending money on a stopgap player is not the best use of what money the team does have and it won't solve the problems in the Ravens secondary.