The Ravens brought in two veteran wide receivers for tryouts, Ronald Curry and David Tyree. Shortly after, Tyree was signed a contract, thus adding some depth to a shallow WR corp. With the addition of Tyree, the Ravens also waived backup tight end, Tony Curtis.

Just a few months ago, the Ravens had worked out Tyree in an effort to add more veteran presence to the wide receiving position. According to John Harbaugh, that tryout had gone very well, but the Ravens did not attempt to sign Tyree. Now, it seems as if that next step has been taken.

BaltimoreRavens.com is reporting that the reason behind the signing is possibly based on the extent of Kelley Washington’s involvement in the offensive scheme. When Washington was signed in the off-season, the intent was to use his talents mainly on special teams. Because he has seen his role grow with the offense, his time with the special teams unit has been limited. By adding Tyree, the Ravens can use Washington the way they had originally intended.

Personally, it seems like the type of player the team should have been pursuing was a special teams free agent. While Kelley Washington was signed with the intention to solidify the special teams, his success as a target for Joe Flacco cannot be overlooked. With the inconsistency of Mark Clayton, Washington has provided a backup plan. Kelley has been the most productive wide receiver, he has been the most reliable on 3rd down conversions as well as 1st down catches, and has brought a personality to the offense. So why would it make much sense to demote Washington back to special teams? There has to be free agents that could make an impact on special teams rather then having to use your second-most productive wide receiver to fill the void instead. Take this guy for example.

Kelley Washington may be losing his job, but does he deserve to?

David Tyree has never been an elite wide receiver in this league. His fame came in the Superbowl against the Patriots when he made a couple of clutch catches to fuel the Giants’ comeback. In fact, when the Ravens tried him out before the season began, there were questions around whether he would be the answer to what was thought to be an under-average wide receiving threat. Now that the team has discovered that their offensive threats are actually a lot better than expected, they run the risk of ruining everything they’ve gained by adding a sub-par wide receiver with limited skills. When you’re close to completing a puzzle, the last step is not to start removing pieces.

Either way, no one is sure of the type of role that Tyree will play on this team. For all we know, he may not actually see playing time at all. Kelley Washington will sure make a push to stay in the lineup to give support to Clayton, Mason and Heap. But for now, one can only hope that the Ravens are smart enough not to change what they’ve found to be a successful formula.