John Brown suggests via Instagram that he hasn’t been approached to re-sign with the Ravens

In February, the Ravens cut WR Michael Crabtree from an already short list of wide receivers on the roster. The move demonstrated the need for younger receivers, or at least a refinement of the receiver room by general manager Eric DeCosta as Lamar Jackson takes over the starting quarterback role for the franchise.

As mentioned, the receivers room is rather empty. Only two pass-catchers under contract for 2019 saw action last season (Willie Snead IV, Chris Moore). There are a few younger players on the roster, but both Jaleel Scott and Jordan Lasley haven’t played an NFL snap. With such a young and uncertain status at receiver, one may believe the Ravens would be interested in re-signing WR John Brown after his semi-successful year with the franchise. But according to Brown’s Instagram story, he has not been approached by the Ravens brass.

While the first two images are standard responses of most pending free agents completing their contracts, the third image sounds more serious in tone. I’m obviously speculating and don’t know anything outside of these images, but it certainly comes off as Brown and/or his agent has not been approached about a deal to keep the speedster in Baltimore.

After the quarterback change, Brown’s numbers fell drastically. With Flacco, Brown caught 34 passes for 601 yards and four touchdowns in nine games. With Jackson, Brown only added eight more catches for 114 yards and and one touchdown in seven games. It may be due to the lack of chemistry between the two that is pushing DeCosta to look elsewhere for receiving talent, but as I said, this is me speculating.

Another possibility is DeCosta letting Brown test the market. If Brown can find a solid deal elsewhere, it could net the Ravens a middle-round compensatory pick. If Brown only garners interest in the Ravens price range, DeCosta may be able to offer him a similar deal.

So far, DeCosta has made solid moves for the direction of the franchise. I suspect he’s calculating John Brown’s interest closely, especially due to the current state of the wide receiver room in Baltimore.