Bleacher Report names one player the Ravens could trade ahead of the deadline

The Baltimore Ravens are sitting at 4-2 after emerging from a three game road stretch at 2-1, tying the Bengals for the best record in the AFC North. They played some of their best football on Sunday to get the win in Nashville as the defense racked up a franchise record 11 sacks. The offense stayed in a rhythm from start to finish, putting up 21 points in an efficient outing.

With a solid start to the season, it’s natural to wonder what has gone well and what hasn’t for Baltimore to this point. One of the positive factors has been their depth, as there have been players up and down the chart who have contributed to the team’s success.

As a result of that, it makes sense to consider players who could be possible trade candidates ahead of the Week 8 deadline. Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton wrote an article in which he picks one player from each team who could possibly be moved while the window is still open.

For Baltimore, he singles out former second-round tight end Maxx Williams, who’s off to a very good start to 2018:

The Baltimore Ravens have four active tight ends on the active roster, which gives them the depth to trade one before the deadline. The front office selected tight ends Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews in the first and third rounds of April’s draft, respectively. The former made his pro debut against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5 and caught one pass for seven yards. The latter has gotten off to a solid start with 11 receptions for 135 yards and a touchdown through five weeks. Meanwhile, fourth-year veteran Maxx Williams has caught every ball thrown in his direction, hauling in 14 passes for 127 yards. With his receiving skills on full display, the Ravens could place him on the trade block to see if teams would cough up a draft pick in return. Williams came into the league as the No. 55 overall pick in the 2015 draft. Knee and ankle injuries cost him time on the field throughout his first three seasons, but he’s contributing in a contract year leading up to unrestricted free agency in March.

Moton certainly makes some good points here, and goes on to name the Titans, Seahawks, and Broncos as potential landing spots. The Ravens have arguably the deepest tight end room in the league and Williams was little more than an afterthought heading into the season.

Still, it’s a bit hard to imagine Baltimore moving Williams with him having such a hot start and Hurst still getting up to speed after returning from injury. It’s natural to look at the team’s deepest position and begin to speculate possible trades, but we’ve seen the Ravens fall apart at positions (including this one) in the blink of an eye thanks to injuries.

Williams may seem surplus to requirements now, but one or two unlucky breaks and he could immediately be thrust into a more important role. In fact, it’s surprising Moton didn’t consider this and then take a look at another player who is both surplus to requirements, and has yet to even see the active roster this season.

That would be quarterback Robert Griffin III, who after being a surprise 53 man roster selection, hasn’t suited up for a game yet. Joe Flacco is playing good football and Lamar Jackson is entrenched as the second stringer and slash player, leaving Griffin as the odd man out who could maybe be dealt before Week 8.

It’s tough to imagine getting a ton for Griffin at this point, as each rookie first rounder with the exception of Jackson have gotten the nod to start for their teams. Outside of that, Jacksonville, Denver, and the Giants could all be possible spots for Robert but even they all may be long shots as it’s difficult to trade a quarterback mid season.

Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see if Baltimore chooses to make any moves ahead of the deadline. Great teams are defined by depth, but with the franchise lacking a second round pick in the coming draft, it may be worth a try to re-up on one.

We’ll see if they go that route, but in the meantime it’s good to see the team off to a nice start. Hopefully they keep it going with it without a move here or there at the deadline.