Crook Steals $50,000 From Ed Reed
Note to self: Don't leave $50,000 in cash on front seat of my car.
That is one sentiment after former Ravens safety Ed Reed was a reported victim of a crime.
Reed withdrew $50K from a bank in Houston this week, drove down the street and stopped off at another bank (Bank of America), where he went inside for just a second and left the money in a bag on the front seat of the car. While he was inside, crooks smashed in the car window and took the money, according to Local 2 in Houston.
Authorities said they believe Reed was followed. Police have seen a local crime trend called "jugging," where thieves target a person leaving a bank or ATM and follow them until the time to strike is just right.
Reed was released by the Houston Texans midseason last year after signing a reported three-year, $15 million contract. He finished the season with the New York Jets. At age 35, Reed is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March.
Reed was in town to move out of his Houston apartment and close his bank accounts, according to CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora.
This is the second time Reed has been robbed in a little over a year. His Maryland home was allegedly robbed while he was in New Orleans for the Super Bowl.
"[T]ough year for him in that regard," La Canfora tweeted.
"With technology allowing for wire transfers and money orders, perhaps it would be in Reed's best interest to not withdraw that much cash at one time in the future. But this isn't the time or place to point fingers, speculate or make judgments in hindsight," wrote Baltimore Beatdown's Jason Butt. "Regardless of what could have been done, no one deserves to be the victim of this kind of crime.
"Hopefully, Houston police will be able to find the perpetrators and hold those accountable for the crime responsible for their actions."
Buyer's Market In Wide Receiver Free-For-All
It looks like a good year for a team to be in need of a wide receiver.
There are currently 54 restricted and unrestricted receivers expected to hit the free agent market in March, making this offseason a buyer’s market, says ProFootballTalk.com's Mike Florio.
"It's bad news for the individual players, since it creates a team-friendly market," Florio wrote. "With so many wideouts looking for new homes, owners and executives will be able to squeeze agents into taking less."
The full list of expected available receivers (not including yesterday's cuts,* *and barring new deals) can be found here, but below is a list of some of the most intriguing:
» Anquan Boldin
» Riley Cooper
» Eric Decker
» Julian Edelman
» Jacoby Jones
» Jeremy Maclin
» Dexter McCluster
» Hakeem Nicks
» Emmanuel Sanders
» Golden Tate
This list could grow, as rumors and reports indicate a few more receivers could be cut in the coming weeks, including Wes Welker, Sidney Rice and Miles Austin.
At the annual "State of the Ravens" press conference in January, General Manager Ozzie Newsome was very bold in saying the type of receiver the franchise wants "will be available."
"Newsome is too polished and savvy to make any guarantees, but there's no question that as early as last month, he was already well aware of the number of wide receiver options who could be available to the Ravens this offseason," wrote The Sun's Jeff Zrebiec.
Ebron Says His Size, Speed Should Be 'Illegal'
Well, North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron is a confident young man.
He's the uber-talented draft prospect that ESPN draft gurus Mel Kiper and Todd McShay both predicted the Ravens would take with their first-round selection in May.
The 6-foot-4, 245-pound "new-breed" tight end reiterated to NFL.com that his size and speed should be a crime.
"It should be illegal," Ebron said,* *laughing. "I'm going to continue to run around illegally."
The Ravens will be able to get a look at his "illegal" skills next week at the NFL Scouting Combine. Ebron "scoffed" at recent reports that he has added "significant" weight, and expects to weigh in at the combine at about 250 pounds.
Keep Eye On Cuts Like Burleson and Delmas
The Detroit Lions cut two veterans Thursday to create some salary cap space ($11.5 million) heading into free agency, including wide receiver Nate Burleson and safety Louis Delmas.
"The Ravens surely took note," wrote The Baltimore Sun's Matt Vensel.
That's because Newsome likes to pick up salary cap casualties in order to potentially be awarded compensatory draft selections. Plus, two positional priorities this offseason are receiver and safety.
Burleson, 32, caught 39 passes for 461 yards and one touchdown last season. His production was impacted by only playing in nine games because of injuries. He is considered a solid receiver when healthy, but he missed 17 games the last two years with a broken leg and broken forearm.
Delmas, a second-round pick in 2009, played all 16 games last season for the first time in his career. However, teams will be wary of his degenerative knee condition that limited his practice time and impacted his play.
The Carroll County Times' Matt Zenitz thinks Delmas in particular could be of interest to the Ravens.
"Delmas isn't really the playmaking FS the Ravens are looking for, but he's just 26 and has been a productive starter for several years," Zenitz wrote.
Vensel isn't sure the Ravens will target either, but says both are the "types" of players the team would target in terms of money and garnering compensatory picks.
"So keep an eye on roster cuts around the league in the coming weeks," he wrote.
Quick Hits
- Former Ravens running back Ricky Williams' newest adventure is in China. He joins a coaching staff that is training 120 Chinese university students, who are vying for roughly 55 roster spots to compete in the country's first international football tournament in May. [USA Today]
- @Ravens: Congrats to @USOlympic freeskier & #Ravens fan @NickGoepper who took home bronze today in #Sochi2014! #GoTeamUSA [Twitter]
- @BPierce_30: Can't shovel because of my shoulder so ima chill till this clears out [Twitter]
- @BaltimoreLuke [WNST]: Need someone to remind me when I'm complaining about 95-degree temperatures at training camp this summer that we don't have to shovel heat. [Twitter]
- @ryanmink: Now THIS is how #Ravens fans deal with #snowday. [Twitter]
- @TorreySmithWR: Walked out in the middle of the yard [Instagram]
