The difference a retirement makes..

Speaking of receivers I have been thinking about Brandon Marshall again. When his name initially surfaced as a possible trade option, and Mason was still an active member of the NFL, it was a no brainer to me that we shouldn't go after a guy like him. He didn't fit in our locker room and wasn't worth the risk. However, with the recent news of Mason's retirement I have re-visited the notion. I still think the guy carries a lot of risk, however now you have to ask yourselves- Can the Ravens win our division without a big play receiver? No one can answer the question with certainty, but if you don't think we can is it worth the risk to get someone like Marshall. If the Ravens front office thinks we can't win a Super bowl with out a big time receiver then maybe the reward out weighs the risk? You figure worst case scenario he turns out to be a cancer and it keeps us from making the playoffs, would that be a worse position than if we didn't get him? When compared with the potential upside, i.e. he pulls a Randy Moss, gets his shit together and totally elevates our offense, is the risk worth the potential reward?

I'm not saying one way or another whether we should go after someone like Marshall, but I think the retirement of Mason totally changes how you look at the potential acquisition. The front office should at least re-visit the idea, and consider the aforementioned questions. At the end of the day, I have total confidence in our front office so I believe they are going to decide what is best for our organization.