Lost in the shuffle of the Ravens' final regular-season loss was a pretty important franchise record.
Wide receiver Marlon Brown tied Torrey Smith's rookie touchdown record (set in 2011) with his seventh score of the year in Cincinnati.
Now Brown heads into the offseason looking for more.
"I don't know what it means. It's a blessing," Brown said as he cleaned out his locker last week. "I'm just trying to get better, man. That's good and all, but I'm just trying to get better."
Brown was an undisputed gem for the Ravens. The undrafted rookie caught 49 passes for 524 yards and the seven touchdowns. He was second on the team (behind Smith) in receiving yards and led the squad in touchdowns.
"It was breathtaking, man. It was everything I thought it would be," Smith said of his rookie year.
Smith came to the Ravens recuperating a torn ACL, which kept him out of nearly all summer practices. He entered the training camp competition late. But Brown quickly developed a rapport with quarterback Joe Flacco in the summer, and that carried over to the regular season.
Brown was targeted with 81 passes, the second most on the team. He caught 60 percent of the passes thrown his way, a higher percentage than Smith or Jacoby Jones.
The big-bodied rookie said he improved mostly on his route running. He said he's more flexible and faster than he was in college. He said he's aiming to further improve in that area, reading defenses, blocking and catching this offseason.
Last week, Head Coach John Harbaugh said adding another receiver could be a priority this offseason. But Brown could still take on an even bigger role next year. Jones could leave as an unrestricted free agent. Tandon Doss is a restricted free agent.
"If that means playing a bigger role in the offense next year, I'll take it," Brown said.
