The Baltimore Ravens have decided to add a new offensive weapon to the roster and it’s a player that packs a punch on the ground and on special teams.
Wednesday morning, the Ravens revealed they had signed running back Kenjon Barner to the roster.
We have signed RB Kenjon Barner.
Barner is a player who brings speed to the mix and will be a solid special teams option for the Ravens to rely on in 2020.
Ravens Hosted Kenjon Barner Over Weekend
According to ESPN’s Josina Anderson over the weekend, Barner is visiting with the team this weekend, and the speedster running back will be getting a look at the team while getting his testing process worked out.
Good morning. I’m told free agent RB, PR, KR Kenjon Barner is scheduled to visit with the #Ravens and start his testing process with the team today, per source.
Obviously, Baltimore’s backfield is loaded at this point in time, so if the team is looking at Barner, it’s likely with designs of him playing a big role on special teams as some sort of return man. Now that the team has signed Barner, he will join one of the NFL’s scariest offenses, which is an interesting prospect for any veteran player at this point in his career.
Kenjon Barner Stats
During a career with Oregon, Barner got the reputation of being one of the speediest players in college football and a constant big play threat. During his career, Barner put up 3,623 rushing yards and 41 touchdowns with the Ducks. Notably, he also put up 591 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns, pointing to the overall impact he made on the field with the team.
During his NFL career, Barner’s impact hasn’t been felt as strongly as it was in college, but he’s made a few plays. In time with the Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, he’s put up 568 total yards and 3 touchdowns.
At 31, the Ravens are now looking at giving Barner a shot to prove he’s got a little bit of juice left in the legs to help them with regard to hitting a few home runs on special teams or for the offense.
De’Anthony Thomas Opted Out From Ravens
The reason the Ravens could be in the market for Barner? The recent opt out of Thomas, who could have been in the mix as a kick returner or punt returner for the team and a speedy member of the offense, but decided to defer his contract until 2021.
News: #Ravens WR/Returner De’Anthony Thomas has decided to opt-out of the 2020 NFL season.
Currently, the league is planning to re-start with caution, and there will be no preseason as part of the agreement. That was something plenty of players were happy to see, but it’s clear not everybody is on board with the risk of playing this season. Thomas joins players like David Price from baseball and Avery Bradley, Spencer Dinwiddie and others in basketball who opted out of their re-starts this season.
De’Anthony Thomas Statistics
Thomas started his career with the Oregon Ducks where he was a standout wide receiver and one of the best players in the PAC 12. He joined the Chiefs as a 4th round pick in 2014, and has put up 509 yards and 7 touchdowns in his career as a pass catcher. Thomas has done damage on special teams with 2,334 yards there in his career.
He made the PFWA’s All-Rookie team in 2014, and before that, was a player who collected plenty of PAC 12 awards, such as being first team in the league in 2011.
Now that the Ravens have signed Barner, the team has simply gone from one former speedy Ducks standout to another, which would be interesting to note.
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Ravens Officially Sign Speedster Running Back to Roster