After the Ravens made a shocking transfer by choosing Notre Dame security Kyle Hamilton with the 14th total decide of the 2022 NFL draft on Thursday night time, one other eye-popping transfer got here quickly after.
The Ravens traded huge receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and a third-round decide to the Arizona Cardinals for the No. 23 total decide, which they later despatched to the Buffalo Bills for the No. 25 decide and the No. 130 decide within the fourth spherical. The Ravens used the twenty fifth decide to pick Iowa heart Tyler Linderbaum.
Brown, who was shipped to Arizona together with the No. 100 total decide, was the Ravens’ main huge receiver final season. He was coming off a profession 12 months, ending with 91 catches for 1,008 yards and 6 touchdowns regardless of an injury-hampered season for quarterback Lamar Jackson.
General supervisor Eric DeCosta advised reporters after the primary spherical Thursday night time that the Brown commerce was a “complicated topic.”
DeCosta mentioned Brown requested a commerce after the 8-9 season, stating “he was not happy and wanting to play elsewhere.”
Brown began elevating hypothesis about his future in Baltimore in February when he eliminated the Ravens’ identify and logos from his social media accounts.
“Wish I coulda played with my brotha forever but [I’ll] see you at the top,” Brown tweeted at Jackson after the trade.
Brown’s commerce to Arizona appeared to have been within the works earlier than the draft as he appeared on the Cardinals’ draft get together quickly after the commerce was introduced.
“We agreed earlier this week and we had a way of going about it that wouldn’t bother him,” DeCosta mentioned.
DeCosta talked about that he and coach John Harbaugh talked to Jackson earlier than the commerce was made, as they tried to clarify the state of affairs one of the simplest ways that they may. DeCosta mentioned the locker room may be very shut, which made buying and selling away Brown difficult for everybody.
“Anytime a teammate is potentially getting traded, it’s something that’s hard for players to understand at times, but I think in the end, it’s part of the business,” he mentioned.
DeCosta mentioned in February that the staff anticipated to train the fifth-year possibility on Brown’s rookie contract, which might’ve stored the previous first-round decide in Baltimore by way of not less than 2023. Brown was picked No. 25 total in 2019, DeCosta’s first 12 months operating the Ravens’ draft.
“I think very highly of Marquise,” DeCosta mentioned at his season-ending information convention. “I think he’s a talent. I love his personality and his competitiveness and his passion. … I like his energy that he brings and quite honestly, for his skill set, for what he brings to the table, the fifth-year option, in my mind, if you look at receivers and what they’re making now, it looks like a bargain. He’s just a nice piece, and honestly, if we didn’t bring him back, we’d be trying to find another receiver.”
DeCosta talked about Brown had loads of upside, saying “he hasn’t played his best football.”
Brown, nevertheless, had completely different plans.
“I think we got a good trade I think and we got an excellent player,” DeCosta mentioned of utilizing the No. 23 decide to commerce again to No. 25 and take Linderbaum. “I hope the best for Hollywood. I hope he is in the Pro Bowl.”
At the Cardinals’ draft get together, staff president Michael Bidwell stood subsequent to Brown and addressed the gang.
“I know it’s something that Hollywood wanted. You’ve been expressing that. And the discussions between Eric DeCosta, the GM of the Ravens, and [Cardinals GM] Steve [Keim] really heated up over the last couple of days,” he mentioned. “So we were pretty excited about it and the whole key was to keep it quiet until we got to the 14th pick. I snuck up to Las Vegas this afternoon, picked up Hollywood and his girlfriend and got him down here just in time the trade went through.”
The commerce marks the Ravens’ first transfer again into the primary spherical since 2018, once they traded as much as No. 32 total to pick Jackson after taking tight finish Hayden Hayden Hurst No. 25 total.
The Ravens now have six fourth-round picks on this 12 months’s draft.
With the Ravens buying and selling away Brown, Jackson and tight finish Mark Andrews are the one gamers remaining from their 2018 draft class, which was the primary beneath DeCosta. Center Bradley Bozeman, cornerback Anthony Averett and security DeShon Elliott departed in free company, whereas offensive sort out Orlando Brown Jr. was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs earlier than final 12 months’s draft.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com