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We gather more information about the Baltimore Ravens’ unconventional decision to give up several players in the wake of their post-season loss to the Bills.
As previously explained, any player claiming a waiver will only now officially join his new team after the Super Bowl. However, if the player goes through unclaimed releases, he immediately becomes a free agent.
The provision allowed cornerback Tramon Williams, who was given up by the Ravens earlier this week and unclaimed, to sign with the Packers. If it is also possible for Mark Ingram to jump back, he could sign with one of the remaining teams as he turned down the waiver.
A team could have claimed Ingram for pardon simply to keep him from, for example, the bills. That happened in 2002 when Washington dropped Deion Sanders off the reserve / retirement list so he could sign with the Raiders for the Super Bowl run. The Chargers claim Sanders is at a distance, a vengeful move by former Washington coach Marty Schottenheimer, whose appointment in Washington eventually led to Sanders’ retirement.
This is the kind of move that would probably be frustrated by Ingram, who presumably wants to follow his first NFL championship. It can also turn off other players in the team doing so.
As for the Ravens, they gave up on these players for the opposite reason. By giving the players a chance to land with another team after Baltimore’s retirement from the post-season instead of squatting on them until after the Super Bowl, the Ravens scored points with other players who could possibly think of joining the Ravens in the future.
As for Ingram, he can now be signed by one of the remaining teams for clearing remissions.