The Baltimore Ravens saw their secondary become massively depleted over the course of the 2021 season. They lost players such as cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters as well as safety DeShon Elliott for the season, and saw many others miss weeks or months with ailments of their own.
One player who saw his role increase in a big way was cornerback Anthony Averett. Originally thought to be the third or fourth-string cornerback, Averett ended the year as the No. 1 player at his position on the depth chart, which forced him into action against some of the top pass catching threats in the NFL.
All in all, Averett held his own finishing the 2021 campaign with 54 total tackles and a team-leading three interceptions. He had extremely strong performances some weeks yet admittedly struggled during a few games as well, and missed three games due to injury.
When looking at the prospects of Baltimore re-signing Averett, there are a few things to consider. For one, he has put together multiple years of at least solid showings, which should entice teams. He is also just 27 years old, which means a team signing him to a three or four-year contract could get multiple high level years out of him over the duration of that contract. Other things to keep in mind include the fact that cornerback is a premium position, as well as the Ravens do have multiple high-level cornerbacks returning and could invest even more at the position.
For Averett, it could be likely that his return to Baltimore hinges on what type of market he has come free agency. If the Ravens can get him back on somewhat of a team-friendly deal that doesn’t have too many negative cap implications, Averett is a fine player to have as cornerback depth. However, if a team falls in love with Averett and offers him CB1 or CB2 money, it becomes much more difficult to squeeze him into the somewhat limited cap space that Baltimore has this offseason.
Averett will deserve every penny of whatever deal he signs, whether that’s with the Ravens or another team. He has grown tremendously since being a fourth-round selection in the 2018 draft and worked hard to get to where he is today. If he were to depart Baltimore and go somewhere else it would be a sizable loss for the team, but if the price isn’t right then it might not be worth paying a premium price for a cornerback this offseason when there are so many other needs elsewhere.