The Baltimore Ravens have completed Dez Bryant’s return to football, elevating him from the practice squad for Week 9’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. After having not played in an NFL game since the end of the 2017 season, Bryant putting on a helmet and getting on the field is easily one of the top storylines of the week. But Baltimore is hoping it’s just the exclamation point on their offense finally coming alive.
The Ravens’ passing attack has been lackluster this season. Despite having reigning MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson back under center and 10 of last year’s 11 starters returning this season, Baltimore ranks 31st in passing yards and 25th in net passing yards per attempt right now. While there’s plenty of blame to go around, there’s hope the Ravens are just one piece away from being a far more complete offense. This week, those hopes fall on the shoulders of Bryant.
But having been out of football for so long and this being his first game, what’s a realistic expectation for Bryant?
I’d caution everyone to have absolutely no expectations of Bryant this game. If he catches even a single pass this week, Bryant will have accomplished a rare feat for some of the NFL’s top players, who have often returned to the sport well after their primes only to outright stink. Putting everything on Bryant isn’t fair to him and it doesn’t hold the other players as accountable for their play as it should.
But there’s reason to believe Bryant will be more than just a statue of past glory on the field. Looking beyond the stat sheet, Bryant is in a good position to not only play a decent number of snaps but to actually contribute in a meaningful way.
For one, he was considered one of the top wide receivers in the game at one point in his career. Even if he isn’t at that level anymore, Bryant comes to Baltimore with more experience and in-game snaps than any other receiver on the roster. At the very least, Bryant should be far more adept at route running and the intricacies of the position than his teammates. Whether that results in any receptions or a big game will likely rely on quite a lot more than just how Bryant plays but it should allow him to get open at times or at least help free up others like Marquise Brown and Willie Snead.
There is some hope Bryant can be the missing piece the Ravens were hoping for. Second-year wide receiver Miles Boykin has been inconsistent to put it nicely. Boykin had huge expectations placed on him this season and hasn’t lived up to them thus far. While that’s disappointing for fans who wanted to see him do well and those that wanted to see the offense flourish, there’s still plenty of time for Boykin to fill those shoes. In the meantime, Baltimore has had a need for a big-bodied possession receiver to balance out the deep speed and quickness elsewhere on the depth chart. Because of the Ravens’ lack of diversity and consistent play at wide receiver, Jackson has been having to force balls into tighter windows and make quicker decisions than he did last year.
If Bryant can be what Baltimore was hoping to get from Boykin this season, everything might just fall into place finally and we’ll see the offense excel. I just wouldn’t go placing money on Bryant living up to his best days.
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