Even though it appeared a week ago that he had made his final decision, the Ravens remain optimistic that wide receiver Derrick Mason won’t retire.
After speaking with Mason on the phone Tuesday night, Harbaugh maintained hope that Mason would have a change of heart soon after the start of training camp next week.
“I think it’s real honorable what he’s doing in the sense that it would be easy for a guy to just come in and go through the motions. Derrick does not want to go through the motions,” Harbaugh said Wednesday. “He wants to make sure he’s in the right frame of mind to compete at the level he’s competed at his whole career, which is a warrior-type level.
“He’s ready physically. He’s in good shape and he’s healthy. He just wants to decide if he’s mentally ready,” Harbaugh said. “It’s really open right now. I’m optimistic and hopeful that he’ll be there, but if he’s not there, we’ll be support and respect his decision either way.”
This just shows how thin (and desperate for that matter) the Ravens are at receiver. Mason had a solid season last year (80 receptions, 1,037 yards, 5 TDs) and has always been productive, but one would think that a team wouldn’t be too broken up about losing a 35-year-old receiver coming off shoulder surgery.
But then you look at Baltimore’s depth chart and understand why. The Ravens have a good young quarterback in Joe Flacco and a solid running game thanks to the trio of Willis McGahee, Ray Rice and Le’Ron McClain. But their top three receivers (Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams and Yamon Figurs) are severely lacking in playmaking ability so they either need Mason to play or they need to get creative and go after a guy like Anquan Boldin.
