The Ravens have picked up Breshad Perriman’s option, but what does it mean?

The Ravens have picked up Breshad Perriman’s $649,485 roster bonus, which was due by the third day of training camp (Saturday). The next logical question to ask is what does this mean for Baltimore?

The Ravens tend to only keep six receivers, but could this year be different?

Michael Crabtree, John Brown, Chris Moore and Willie Snead are roster locks. Jaleel Scott and Jordan Lasley are the team’s 2018 draft picks at the receiver position and are near-locks to make the roster, barring an injury. After those six, there are other players like Perriman, Tim White, DeVier Posey, Quincy Adeboyejo, Jaelon Acklin and Andre Levrone who will all compete for the final spot at receiver, if available.

Perriman has battled injuries, but he still possesses a great deal of speed. Baltimore could possibly harness his speed as a special teams player, specifically as a kick returner, despite having no experience.

In all certainty, he will have to battle against Moore and White for the final position. Moore has NFL experience as a kick returner with 20 returns for 508 yards and an average of 25.4 yards per return. White returned kicks and punts throughout college. In his college career as a kick returner, White had 69 returns for 1,681 yards and one touchdown. As a punt returner, he had 27 returns for 308 yards and one touchdown.

During training camp and the preseason, Perriman will have to prove that he has better hands, improved route-running and display the ability to make catches in traffic. Allowing him an opportunity to compete as returner would give him another chance to make his case.