Ravens Make Headlines by Signing Troubled Wide Receiver

Even if you’re a modest Ravens fan you know that we need a wide receiver. One only has to think back to the first Patriots game when Mark Clayton dropped a pass in the redzone that hit him right in the hands or Derrick Mason’s drop in the end zone against archival Pittsburgh. We have a young quarterback in Joe Flacco who in order to mature needs talented receivers around him. You can't blame Joe for not getting the ball out when his receivers can't get open. A relationship with wide outs takes a while to establish timing, rhythm, and trust. I am one fan who fully believes that with the addition of a deep threat wide out will force opposing defenses to respect the pass and it will further “The Ray Rice” show.

We need a wide receiver, but is signing Donte Stallworth the way we want to accomplish our goals? Stallworth, a former first round draft pick, like many other NFL players has made some serious mistakes in his personal life. Maybe these issues can be attributed to the stardom of playing professional football and coming from up from nothing, but the fact remains that because of his actions someone is dead.

Stallworth’s made the decision to drive drunk one morning (a decision people make everyday) in Miami where he committed DUI manslaughter. He only served 24 days of a 30 day sentence and was cut from the Cleveland Browns the day he was reinstated into the league. In a statement released by Stallworth he said, “I will never get that morning back. It weighs on me every day and will for the rest of my life. What I can do is move forward, try to be a better person, try to convince others not to do what I did and warn others about the dangers of drinking and driving. I have to show otherwise that what happened doesn’t reflect who I am.” Source Yahoo.

From a fan’s perspective the deal looks good. We signed him to a one year deal for $900,000 with bonus incentives available depending upon his performance. We can’t really lose anything if it turns out he can’t play and because this year is uncapped it won’t have any effect on signing additional free agents (Cough… Brandon Marshall). Stallworth hasn’t played football since 2008, but at age 28 he still has a few years of productivity ahead of him. Has he sincerely changed for the better and evolved as a human being? That’s left to be decided by the fans during his time spent here in Baltimore.

The bigger issue here however are the moral implications of signing a player who has committed DUI Manslaughter a charge in Maryland that carries a maximum sentence of 3 years. As members of this community how do you feel about a player like this representing Charm City? Is football simply a business or do the players, team, and organization represent something more? On a personal level I believe in the American justice system and although Stallworth got off easily (24 days of 30 day sentence & paying the family three million), he like anyone else deserves a second chance at redemption and life. How do you feel about Donte Stallworth stepping into the purple and black?