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Redskins Free Agents: Ravens overpay WR Ryan Grant to join receiving corps

By Jacob Camenker

NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 19: Ryan Grant #14 of the Washington Redskins walks into the end zone for a touchdown during a game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 19, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Saints defeated the Redskins 34-31. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 19: Ryan Grant #14 of the Washington Redskins walks into the end zone for a touchdown during a game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 19, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Saints defeated the Redskins 34-31. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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Ryan Grant was a solid contributor for the Washington Redskins during the 2017 NFL season. Now, he will be moving less than an hour to play for the Baltimore Ravens.

One of the surprising keys to the Washington Redskins offense in 2017 was Ryan Grant. The former Tulane product was entering his fourth season with the Redskins, there was little hope that he would be much more than a primary backup. After all, in 2016, Grant had logged a meager nine receptions for 76 yards. He was just a good route runner, and didn’t offer much else.

However, thanks to the early season struggles of Terrelle Pryor and Josh Doctson, Grant was able to carve out more of a role for himself in the offense. In the first game of the season, Grant caught four passes for 61 yards, and that set the tone for his season.

As the year went along, Grant became a reliable target for Kirk Cousins and played in all 16 games. He posted career highs in catches with 45, receiving yards with 573, and touchdowns with four. Grant proved to be an excellent route runner with decent athleticism. In the right offense, he is a perfect third option in the receiving corps. Had the Redskins had a more proven No. 1 receiver, they probably would have tried to keep him.

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Instead, Grant will be joining the Baltimore Ravens once free agency officially begins. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Grant has received a four-year deal to join the Ravens.

Frankly, that type of contract is a massive overpay for Grant. Yes, Grant was a solid player last year and could be a quality starter for the Ravens. At the same time, he is just two years removed from logging less than 10 receptions and looking like a potential roster cut. It will be hard to tell which version of Grant the Ravens are getting.

The average annual value of the Grant deal is about $7.25 million. Comparatively, he is making more annually than Robert Woods, Golden Tate, and Mohamed Sanu. His average annual value barely trails the $8 million figure the Redskins gave to Paul Richardson, a better player with more upside. Even though the guarantees only total half the deal, it’s still a lot of money to give to a player who had one good year.

That’s not to say that Grant doesn’t deserve what he’s earned. By all accounts, he is a great guy, and Chris Thompson spoke of that on Twitter. Grant simply isn’t a consistent, proven commodity and while the same could be said of Richardson, the fact is that Richardson is a year-and-a-half younger than Grant. So based on that alone, the Redskins made the right decision going after Richardson.

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Grant could end up being a success in Baltimore. But this type of deal carries massive risk with it. The Ravens may have found a true No. 2 receiver, but I’m skeptical of giving a player like Grant this type of money. It will be interesting to see if he can live up to this contract. He will definitely work as hard as he can to justify it.

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