Ravens Expected To Decline CB Brandon Carr’s Option

Yet another cornerback is going to hit the open market. The Ravens are expected to decline Brandon Carr’s option and send him to free agency, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

We had heard the Ravens were unlikely to retain Carr if they brought back fellow corner Jimmy Smith, and now it sounds like Carr will be moving on even if Smith isn’t back. Carr will turn 34 in May, but he started all 16 games for Baltimore this past season. Carr has been remarkably durable, never missing a game or start in his 12-year career. Originally a fifth-round pick out of tiny D2 school Grand Valley State back in 2008, Carr has carved out quite the career for himself.

He’s never been elite or made the Pro Bowl, but has been a solid starter for many years. He spent the first four years of his career with the Chiefs and then five with the Cowboys, before signing a four-year, $23.5MM pact with the Ravens in 2017. With Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters, who they acquired in a trade last season, both under contract, Carr became more expendable.

His playing time was reduced after the Peters trade, and it’s clear the Ravens want to get younger at the position. Humphrey is 23 and Peters is 27. All eyes will now turn to Smith, and the last we heard is that he’s planning on testing the open market while the two sides are both still interested in a potential reunion.

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