Baltimore Ravens Rumors: Ed Reed Prepared to Leave Through Free Agency?

 

Yesterday the Baltimore Ravens agreed to trade wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers, a deal that is pending a physical. We also learned from Jason La Canfora that Ed Reed might be moving on from the Ravens after hiring agent David Dunn in preparations to meet with teams. One potential suitor could be Boldin’s new team, the 49ers.

The 49ers might have an opening at safety with Dashon Goldson hitting the free agent market today and sure to draw plenty of interest. The 49ers might not want to meet Goldson’s price but there is also a chance Goldson does take a hometown discount to stay with the team that came close to winning a Super Bowl.

If Goldson does bolt the 49ers for money there is a strong possibility that Reed, 34, could be the target to replace him. Of course, the 49ers wouldn’t be alone in their courtship of Reed. The Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins and several other teams could come calling for the best safety of his generation.

Reed has clearly lost a little step in his game. However, he is still a lethal hitter and still has a nose for the ball and can contribute in the right system. The New England Patriots are another team that can’t be ruled out. They are like the New York Yankees of the football world, seemingly rumored to be a landing spot for every free agent whether there is mutual interest or not so they can’t be discounted especially with Bill Belichick, who is a fan of Reed’s, at the helm.

There is still a chance Reed returns to the Ravens or even retires. Reed has flirted with the idea of retiring for the past couple of seasons now. Retirement, however, seems very unlikely since Reed did hire a new agent but Reed seems to change his mind more often than Barry Sanders changed directions on a run.

Reed will get plenty of calls in the next few hours and could end up following Boldin to San Francisco but it looks like, at least at this moment, that this an end to an era in Baltimore. With Ray Lewis retiring and Paul Kruger and Cary Williams also a free agent, the defending Super Bowl champions could be facing an arduous rebuilding project.