Ravens Veteran Experiment: WR Edition
There have been memes circulating throughout the internet over the years that Tennessee is a graveyard for wide receivers. After Baltimore signed DeAndre Hopkins in free agency, Baltimore was added to the list. Dating back to the 2010 season, the Ravens have signed 10 players who were entering their age-30 season or later. Since then, the Ravens have also signed many players who were somewhere between 27 and 29 years old, but I wouldn’t consider that an “end-of-career” signing, despite most of these players never suiting up in the NFL again. Some popular names fans may remember are Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith Sr., Odell Beckham Jr., and now Hopkins. However, there are many more that some may seem to have forgotten. My goal in this article is to share the information and statistics of these receivers who stopped in Baltimore for no longer than three years and, more often than not, remained unsigned until their retirement, and compare them to the potential that lies within DeAndre Hopkins.
Anquan Boldin – 2010-2012
Drafted in 2003 by the Arizona Cardinals, Boldin spent seven seasons in the desert, eventually signing with the Baltimore Ravens months before his 30th birthday. Boldin played three seasons with the Ravens, winning his one and only Super Bowl. The former AP Offensive Rookie of the Year started in all but three games with the Ravens, making one spectacular catch after another. After the Ravens won the Super Bowl, Ray Lewis retired, Ed Reed changed teams, as did almost a dozen more. The team was beginning a rebuild, and the success Boldin had with the Ravens in the 2012 postseason led to his trade to the 49ers. The pick received from San Francisco was eventually packaged for a 2013 second-round pick that selected LB Arthur Brown, the supposed replacement for Lewis. With the Ravens, Boldin recorded 186 receptions for 2645 yards and 14 touchdowns, along with over 600 yards and six touchdowns in eight playoff games. Boldin retired after 14 seasons in the league with the Cardinals, Ravens, 49ers, and Lions, totaling over 1,000 receptions, 13,779 yards, and 82 touchdowns. Boldin was the status quo of veteran receiver success in Baltimore.
Steve Smith Sr. – 2014-2016
Boldin’s success in Baltimore gave fans a glimmer of hope when the Ravens brought in 35-year-old Steve Smith Sr. after 13 years in Carolina. Smith Sr. was entering a room led by Torrey Smith, Jacoby Jones, and Brandon Stokley. Stokley was drafted as a Baltimore Raven in 1999 and played for the team until 2002, before leaving and rejoining the team for one final season in 2013, when he was 37. After Stokley retired, the Ravens drafted Michael Campanaro and signed Steve Smith Sr. and Kamar Aiken. Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones left the team after Steve Smith’s first season with the Ravens, where he recorded 1,065 yards, leaving the five-time Pro Bowler as the lone star receiver in Baltimore. Smith Sr. started in all 37 games that he suited up for, recording 195 receptions, 2,534 yards, and 14 touchdowns; eerily similar to the production that Boldin had in the same number of seasons. Additionally, Steve Smith Sr. finished his career with 1,031 receptions for 14,731 yards and 81 touchdowns, which, when compared to Boldin, is uncannily similar.
Mike Wallace – 2016-2017
Only teammates for one year, Steve Smith and Mike Wallace, were both in their 30s playing for the Ravens. After playing at an elite level for Pittsburgh and Miami, Wallace spent one disappointing season in Minnesota before signing with the Ravens and recording his third career 1,000-yard season, which he had not achieved in over five years to that point. While the 30-year-old was most known for his 95-yard touchdown against the team that drafted him, Wallace played one more season for the Ravens before signing with the Eagles and recording zero catches on three targets in two games. In Wallace’s two years in Baltimore, he recorded 124 receptions for 1765 yards and eight touchdowns, finishing his 10-year career with 538 receptions for 8072 yards and 57 touchdowns.
Michael Crabtree – 2018
Michael Crabtree played his age-31 season in Baltimore and recorded 54 receptions for 607 yards and three touchdowns. While he was not the most disappointing veteran receiver to play for the Ravens since 2010, he does find himself towards the top of the list because he started and played in all 16 games in his only season in Baltimore. Crabtree was lined up next to 28-year-old John Brown, who recorded 100 more yards and two more touchdowns on 12 fewer receptions because Brown was more of a deep threat compared to Crabtree. An explanation for their dip in production despite playing in every game that season is that rookie Lamar Jackson was named the starting quarterback halfway through the season and was either primarily rushing or throwing to fellow rookies Mark Andrews and Hayden Hurst.
Dez Bryant – 2020
In what is considered the most disappointing veteran addition to the Ravens’ WR corps, Dez Bryant tops the list, appearing in six games, starting in zero. Bryant’s age-32 season statistics with the Ravens look like a modest one-day showing from his past in Dallas, recording six receptions for 47 yards and two touchdowns. Keep in mind that no Baltimore pass catcher broke the 800-yard mark in 2020. With Willie Snead IV, Mark Andrews, and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown recording for nearly 70% of Lamar Jackson’s 2,757 passing yards, it is not surprising that the other 30% would be split among players like Devin Duvernay, Miles Boykin, Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, and Nick Boyle.
DeSean Jackson – 2022
DeSean Jackson is right up there with Bryant and Crabtree as failed signings. The three-time Pro Bowl receiver signed with the Ravens in 2022, appearing in only seven games. In those seven games, the then 36-year-old recorded nine receptions for 153 yards and zero touchdowns. His longest catch was a 62-yard catch in the Week 12 loss to Jacksonville. Most famous for his blazing speed and ability to make defenders miss, Jackson was unable to replicate his explosiveness, posting a career low in receiving yards. Jackson finished his 15-year career with 641 receptions for 11,263 yards and 58 touchdowns, ranking 41st on the all-time receiving yards list.
Odell Beckham Jr. – 2023
Odell Beckham Jr. signed with the Ravens before the 2023 NFL season on a one-year, $15 million deal, after being released by the Cleveland Browns. Odell started in six of the 14 games that he appeared in, recording 35 receptions for 565 yards and three touchdowns. One of those three touchdowns was scored on his 31st birthday in the dismantling of the Seattle Seahawks. Odell saw moderate playing time considering Lamar Jackson was throwing to Rashod Bateman, rookie Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, and Nelson Agholor. Odell was not brought back to Baltimore, signed with the Dolphins in 2024, posted 55 receiving yards in nine games, and tested free agency again. Odell Beckham Jr. currently remains a free agent as of Week One of the 2025 NFL Season.
Nelson Agholor – 2023-2024
Nelson Agholor was in a similar situation to Odell Beckham Jr., signing with the Ravens to be a depth receiver behind Flowers, Bateman, Andrews, Likely, and others. Agholor received more playing time considering the target share in Baltimore, starting 10 of his 31 games in purple and black. With 49 receptions, 612 yards, and six touchdowns, Baltimore did not see the value in resigning someone who was not single-handedly winning games for the Ravens, resulting in Agholor walking to free agency and remaining unsigned entering the 2025 NFL Season. Agholor provided reliable hands and decent route running, but the Ravens felt they could get a true game-changing depth receiver in 2025 free agency. Enter DeAndre Hopkins.
DeAndre Hopkins – 2025
The most recent installment of the veteran experiment at wide receiver is the 2013 first-round selection, DeAndre Hopkins. After having a spectacular start to his career in Houston, Hopkins and a fourth-round pick were sent to Arizona for David Johnson, a second-round selection, and a fourth-round pick. Arizona won the trade as Hopkins recorded a 1,000-yard season and Johnson did absolutely nothing with the Texans, rushing for less than 1,000 yards in two seasons with Houston. Hopkins then had small stints in Kansas City and Tennessee before testing free agency and ultimately deciding to sign with Baltimore because of their odds to win the Super Bowl. Hopkins is not a WR1 anymore, and it is clear that he is not the top target in Baltimore. However, Hopkins has proved that he still has play-making abilities. In the devastating 2025 Week One loss to the Bills on Sunday Night Football, Hopkins brought in both of his targets for 35 yards and a spectacular one-handed touchdown grab. The Clemson alum will look to add to his 13,000 career receiving yards and 84 touchdowns, which are 21st and 22nd all-time, respectively.
Final Thoughts
Not all the receivers after Anquan Boldin have been slam dunks. Mike Wallace and Steve Smith Sr. feel like the only exceptions. Dez Bryant, Michael Crabtree, and DeSean Jackson were absolute duds, while Nelson Agholor and Odell Beckham Jr. were impactful but not game changers. All these receivers had great careers, but not all saw success in Baltimore. After a promising season opener for the Baltimore offense, fans hope Hopkins can join the category with Wallace and Smith Sr. If not, Hopkins may be a free agent again in 2026.
