Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti hinted at an exciting few months ahead during his season-review press conference Friday.
He said several times during the 45-minute media session that the Ravens need to inject their offense with dynamic offensive playmakers around quarterback Joe Flacco, and the team plans to spend resources in free agency and the draft to make that happen.
"I think that there's a really good chance we won't take a defensive tackle in the first round. I hear the criticism," he said. "We will be exploring all options in free agency and the draft for targets for Joe."
The search for a young No. 1 wide receiver has been underway in Baltimore for years. The Ravens have successfully used free agency to find veteran targets such as Derrick Mason, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith and Mike Wallace, but they haven't found a game-changing receiver in the draft.
Baltimore's receiving corps could be in store for some big changes this offseason as Wallace is set to become a free agent. Jeremy Maclin and Breshad Perriman are also both entering the final year of their contracts after disappointing 2017 campaigns.
Surrounding Flacco with weapons was a talking point when team brass held the annual offseason summit at Bisciotti's Florida home, and they are on a mission to inject the roster with offensive difference makers.
"You can be assured that the majority of our attention will be on offense this year," Bisciotti said. "I think that we can make a splash and help us on the way to getting our offense clicking better."
The Ravens did make offensive investments last year, but they didn't pan out as expected. They signed Maclin and running back Danny Woodhead, but both dealt with injuries and didn't put up big numbers. Perriman also took a step back and caught just 10 passes for 77 yards.
Bisciotti didn't get into any specifics about which receivers he'd like to see in a Ravens uniform this year, but it sounded like he had a few in mind. He even joked that one of his notes for the press conference was "do not tamper" by talking about a player technically still under contract by another team.
Some of the wide receivers scheduled to hit free agency this year include Jarvis Landry (Miami), Sammy Watkins (Los Angeles Rams), Terrelle Pryor (Washington) and Marqise Lee (Jacksonville). The top receiving prospect in the draft is Alabama's Calvin Ridley, who has been a popular projection to the Ravens in the early mock drafts.
Signing a top free-agent receiver could be tricky given where the Ravens are against the salary cap – they currently have about $9.9 million in cap room according to OverTheCap.com – but they can also create more space by releasing players or restructuring contracts.
"We'll do what we have to do to fill the roster through the draft and free agency," Bisciotti said. "We've got some money and we can create more. I'm not too worried about that right now."
Baltimore finished No. 27 in total offense last year, but that was because the group struggled mightily early in the year as quarterback Joe Flacco dealt with a herniated disc. Flacco missed the entire preseason and returned to practice just a week before the season opener. The Ravens also lost starting guards Marshal Yanda and Alex Lewis by Week 2.
Bisciotti admitted that during the early stretch of the season the offense was "boring."
The unit surged late in the season as Flacco got healthier, however, and the group scored the second-most points in the league in the second half of the year. The Ravens are now focused on building off the strong finish to the season by adding some new playmakers to the mix over the next few months.
"We're going to have to go back into the till," Bisciotti said.
