Dez Bryant could be a shot in the arm for the Ravens offense

Dez Bryant is slated to work out with the Baltimore Ravens after two years away.

The Baltimore Ravens had the highest-scoring offense in the 2019 NFL season — and by a wide margin. While eventual MVP Lamar Jackson and his cohorts put up 531 points on the year, the second-place team (San Francisco) had only 479 points scored. Meanwhile, wide receiver Dez Bryant hasn’t played in an NFL game since the 2017 season with Dallas. So you might think that Baltimore wouldn’t need the 31-year-old wideouts services.

That apparently isn’t the case, though. On Monday, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Jane Slater reported that Dez Bryant is expected to work out with the Ravens this week. Bryant expects to play in the 2020 season after having two years off from game action.

He signed with the Saints in 2018 but suffered a torn Achilles in the offseason, thus ending his tenure before ever playing a down in New Orleans. Bryant then spent all of last year rehabilitating from the injury with the intention of returning to the field eventually. That intention clearly hasn’t changed as he plans to work out in Baltimore.

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Even still, that doesn’t explain why the Ravens would be interested in a 31-year-old player with two years of rust after being the best offense in the NFL last year. Yet, when you dig into it, the match between the defending AFC North champions and the wide receiver could actually be a perfect one.

The Ravens could get a shot in the arm from having Dez Bryant on offense.

From 2012-14 with Dallas, Dez Bryant was one of the league’s best wide receivers. Over those three seasons, he played in a full 48 games and had 273 receptions for 3,935 yards and 41 touchdowns. In the three years after, though, things changed.

Bryant played in only nine games in 2015 and 13 in the 2016 season. More importantly, he failed to develop a consistent rapport with young Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. After the 2017 season and eight years with the team that drafted him, though, Bryant was released in April 2018. Thus, he’s not seen NFL action since.

Despite how good the Ravens offense was last year, though, the passing attack struggled in terms of the wide receivers. Tight ends Mark Andrews and Hayden Hurst were the Nos. 1 and 3 pass-catchers on the team while Marquise Brown led all receivers in catches (46), yards (584) and touchdowns.

The hope is certainly that Brown, a first-round pick in the 2019 draft, can take a step forward. But it would also benefit Jackson and the Baltimore offense to have more help. Willie Snead and Miles Boykin are fine players, as is rookie Devin Duvernay, but none of them are world-beaters.

Bryant, however, fits the mold of players perfect for what Jackson needs to progress as a passer and, subsequently, for the Ravens offense to take the next step. His pedigree as a big-bodied contested-catch winner is perfect for a young quarterback whose accuracy is inconsistent. Thus, it stands to reason why general manager Eric DeCosta is bringing him in.

If Dez Bryant is in as good of shape as he’s indicated he is and the price is right, it would be a no-brainer for Baltimore to bring him in. The Ravens don’t necessarily need him but he’s the type of low-risk, high-reward signing who could help take the team and offense to the next level — a scary notion for a team that went 14-2 with the best offense in the league last year.