Ravens finally add a wide receiver, signing Sammy Watkins to one-year deal
The Ravens are expected to sign wide receiver Sammy Watkins to a one-year deal, according to media reports, adding a potential starter and experienced veteran to a much-criticized group.
The deal is reportedly worth $5 million, with another $1 million available in incentives.
Watkins visited Baltimore on Tuesday, then headed to Indianapolis on Wednesday, when the Colts re-signed T.Y. Hilton despite a serious last-minute push by the Ravens. With Kenny Golladay, Will Fuller V, Curtis Samuel, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Corey Davis having signed during the first week of free agency, Watkins was one of the few remaining impact receivers still available.
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, Watkins will reunite in Baltimore with Greg Roman, his former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator, and Keith Williams, his former personal wide receivers coach and the Ravens’ first-year pass game specialist. In 2015, Roman’s only full season in Buffalo, Watkins had 1,047 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, both still career bests.
The 6-foot-1, 211-pound Watkins has struggled to match that production in recent years. In 2019, his best season since that breakout campaign, he had 52 catches for 673 yards and three touchdowns with the Kansas City Chiefs. Last season, Watkins had 55 catches for a career-low 421 yards in Kansas City.
He’ll join a Ravens receiving corps led by Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, who showed star potential late last season, and filled out by complementary pieces such as Miles Boykin, Devin Duvernay and James Proche II. Ravens wide receivers finished last in the NFL last season in receptions and yards, and the team’s expected to target the position in next month’s draft.
This story will be updated.
