The Ravens thought enough of Lee Evans to give up a fourth-round draft pick for him last August. They thought so little of him this offseason that they didn't bring him back despite their dire need at wide receiver.
Evans, 31, agreed to a one-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, The Florida Times-Union reported Sunday. There's not much reason to believe he'll recapture his early career magic with his first professional coach, Mike Mularkey, who now leads the Jaguars.
The Ravens cut Evans after his injury-plagued 2011 campaign because of his salary. But they could have tried to bring him back at a lesser rate and showed little interest in doing so. That's despite the fact that Baltimore's best in-house options for the No. 3 receiver role currently are Tandon Doss and David Reed.
The Jaguars have an even thinner wideout group, with starters Mike Thomas and Laurent Robinson ahead of backups such as Jarett Dillard, Brian Robiskie and Cecil Shorts. We'd expect the Jaguars to add a rookie to the mix as well.
Mularkey was part of the Buffalo Bills group that selected Evans in the first round of the 2004 draft. It was a great pick; Evans was one of the more underrated vertical receivers of the last decade. But injuries have caught up to him, and he hasn't topped 650 yards since 2008. That's the type of trend that rarely reverses after a player hits 30.
This signing reminds us a little of when the Jaguars picked up Torry Holt. We can't kill the Jaguars for taking a shot with minimal risk, but the odds are Evans won't make much of an impact.
