Getty Jayron Kearse makes a play for the Lions against the Titans.
The Baltimore Ravens are looking for a bit of depth on the back end as they make a run for the postseason, and they may have scored that in a big way with a potential signing.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the team will sign productive veteran safety Jayron Kearse in the coming days. Kearse was recently released by the Detroit Lions after signing with them as a free agent this past offseason. He played a decent role for Detroit until his eventual release, which had to do with violation of team rules.
The Ravens are looking at Kearse now, and when he joins the team, he will figure to add some key depth to the roster at safety. Don Martindale’s defense has been solid this season but besieged by injuries, so Kearse can come in and give the Ravens a little solid depth and defense on the back end the rest of the way.
Jayron Kearse’s Fit With Ravens
The obvious question in situations like this is what’s next for the player. Obviously, Kearse is a guy who could make an impact for someone and should immediately draw some interest as a free agent. Defensive backs are a key position in the mix for the postseason in the NFL, and Kearse has been decently productive this season given his up and down production. 59 tackles was sill a very decent number for Kearse and he is an aggressive player who plays tough on the field and flies around to the ball. To that end, he could be a welcome addition for the Baltimore defense.
This season, the Ravens have been dinged up a bit on the back end, and Kearse having real NFL experience to rely on should help give the team an added body to throw at the opposition.
Jayron Kearse Statistics
Coming into the league out of Clemson as a seventh-round pick, Kearse was well decorated during his time with the Tigers as a first team ACC player in 2014 and 2015. In the NFL, Kearse has put up decent stats with 79 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1 interception and 8 passes defended. He started his career with the Minnesota Vikings before landing in Detroit as a free agent. Kearse hasn’t played a huge role to this point in his career, but it was expected that with the Lions, he was going to get a chance to do plenty of things within their scheme and show why he’s a great player. That never materialized according to Detroit with this move.
Kearse hasn’t played a huge role all of this season, but it’s important to remember he was shelved with a suspension for the first three games of 2020. He returned in Week 4, and put up a decent 59 tackles since, making him one of the more productive players to get cut from any roster late in a season.
Detroit doesn’t have a full-time general manager, and in this case, their loss could very well be Baltimore’s gain given the team’s defensive needs and aspirations for the playoffs.
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