Baltimore Ravens: How does Kyle Arrington fit?

By Kevin Parvizi | May 15, 2015

The Baltimore Ravens have one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks in Jimmy Smith, who earned a lucrative- but well-deserved- extension earlier this offseason despite coming off of a Lisfranc injury. While Smith is a cornerstone in the secondary, the Ravens depth at cornerback didn’t exactly inspire confidence in the position, especially if Smith were to, God forbid, suffer a second straight season-ending injury.

So the Ravens scooped up a player that the rival New England Patriots surprisingly deemed unfit to compete for a job, as they signed slot cornerback Kyle Arrington to a three-year deal yesterday after quickly emerging as a favorite to sign him. It figures to be a cheap deal, so it’s an important signing for a team that only had Asa Jackson as proven depth behind starters Smith and Lardarius Webb.

More from Baltimore Ravens

It’s unclear if the Ravens cornerbacks will be a strength next season, because a lot of that hinges on Webb’s ability to bounce back from a suddenly poor 2014 season. Webb is usually one of the league’s best cornerbacks due to his speed and ball skills, but he lost the “shutdown” tag last season and was forced to take a paycut after facing the threat of being released despite the team’s situation at the position.

Arrington was in fact released by the Patriots despite the fact that they literally don’t have a proven option at the position. They already cut Alfonzo Dennard, who promptly joined the Arizona Cardinals after being claimed off of waivers, and it’s not like offseason signings Bradley Fletcher and Robert McClain set the world on fire last season either (Fletcher, in particular, was horrible, as he was one of the worst corners in the league in 2014 after once being a decent CB2).

Even though some could see the facts surrounding Arrington’s release as being troubling, it probably came down to the fact that they thought he was too expensive to be a slot-only corner. They probably viewed Logan Ryan or McClain as his replacement on the inside, so they decided to shave off some cap and see if the other players can duke it out for the outside spots.

Webb has inside-outside versatility, but Arrington is essentially a slot-only cornerback and will be the team’s nickel corner, barring anything unexpected. As we saw in the 2012 season prior to the Aqib Talib trade, Arrington is an impending disaster on the outside without excellent safety help, because he is small and can be burn-prone. If he’s facing a big receiver or a fast receiver without help from an elite coverage safety like, say, Will Hill, then he could be in trouble.

But in the slot, Arrington is a damn fine option, because he has all the traits you look for in a slot CB. In fact, he used to be a favorite of Bill Belichick’s because of his physicality, willingness to make plays in run support, and his work ethic and smarts. It’s worth noting that Arrington fills up the stat sheet, because he had 88 tackles with seven picks and 13 PDs in 2011, 73 tackles and 11 PDs in 2012, and 62 tackles and 12 PDs in 2013.

Arrington’s numbers fell off last year, as his snap count was basically halved, largely thanks to the increase in playing time for Ryan, who is more versatile and has more upside despite the fact that Arrington is still the better player.

Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington (25) in Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Set to be 29 when the season starts, Kyle Arrington’s deal likely contains just about no guaranteed money, so the Ravens shouldn’t have to worry about him declining significantly over the course of his deal. His game is based on timing, physicality, and headiness, so it’s hard to see him becoming an uncuttable liability during his contract.

The Baltimore Ravens just added some important depth at a position that always needs depth, especially since the health of their cornerbacks isn’t guaranteed (nor is a bounce-back season from Webb a sure-fire thing).

It’s rare to find a quality slot cornerback on the open market in mid-May, but the Ravens were able to nab that kind of a player, filling an immediate need with an immediate upgrade.

In fact, it looks like the Ravens are giving Arrington no guaranteed money on a three-year deal worth $7 million, so that is indeed a bargain. Arrington will fit right in as the team’s primary slot defender against three-wide sets (which is what teams primarily face), and he’ll be a credible run defender for this team.

Next: Ravens 5 Key Stats

More from NFL Spin Zone

Home/Baltimore Ravens