Brown was the Ravens’ leading wide receiver last season, hauling in 91 passes for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns. But Baltimore also used a first-round pick on Rashod Bateman in last year’s draft, and he will now be relied upon to take on an even bigger share of the load.
Brown was approaching his fourth NFL season and the Ravens hadn’t picked up his fifth-year option yet, although General Manager Eric DeCosta said the expectation was that Baltimore would. However, the trade market for wide receiver has exploded this offseason and the Ravens had a chance to recoup the first-round pick they used on Brown (No. 25 in 2019) before he got too expensive to keep.
The Ravens already paid tight end Mark Andrews and have Lamar Jackson’s contract extension still to come at some point.
Brown posted 195 catches for 2,361 yards and 21 touchdowns in his three seasons in Baltimore.