The Baltimore Ravens shocked the NFL world during the first night of the 2022 NFL draft, trading away wide receiver Marquise Brown as well as pick No. 100 in exchange for pick No. 23. The deal came out of nowhere, but it was later revealed by Brown himself that he requested a move out of Baltimore, talking about how he was utilized and more.
Brown is expected to play a big role in the Arizona offense, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t occasionally asked about his time with the Ravens and his decision to move on from the team. Brown discussed why he looked for a fresh start, citing that he “wanted to be a part of something to win”, but was also very complimentary of the organization in his full answer.
Hollywood Brown on leaving the Ravens:
“I want to feel like I am a part of something to win. At the Ravens, I just felt like sometimes they really didn’t need me. Regardless if I was there or not, they were going to win games. … I love the game too much.”https://t.co/A3u8zNA62B
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) August 17, 2022
Marquise Brown’s full response on why he wanted to move on from Baltimore.
Super fair. I don’t see anything wrong with how he handled this. #Ravens
via @AZCardinals pic.twitter.com/0k0J1LltTx
— Bobby Trosset (@bobbytrosset) August 17, 2022
Brown was 10th in targets throughout the entire league in 2021 with 146, which comes out to 9.1 targets per game. However, it’s clear he wanted to be utilized in a different way, so he now finds himself in Arizona with his former college quarterback in Kyler Murray. Baltimore’s offense is one that is much more run-heavy than the Cardinals’ when at full strength, so sometimes that left Brown without many looks during certain weeks.
The former Oklahoma star was a big part of the Ravens’ passing game, and his departure now opens up the No. 1 wide receiver role for Rashod Bateman, who is expected to take a big jump in his second season. Brown would have helped the Ravens in 2022, but both parties are now looking ahead in their new situations.