[Blogs] ‘Housh’ Now A Raven, Clayton A Ram

[BR News]

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The Ravens have agreed in principle to the terms of a one-year contract with wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

To make room for the former Pro Bowler, Mark Clayton was traded to the St. Louis Rams for a future undisclosed draft pick in return.

After spending last season with the Seattle Seahawks, Houshmandzadeh was released Saturday, one year into a five-year contract.

“The first things that pop out at you about T.J. are that he has been very productive and durable in his first nine years in the NFL,” General Manager Ozzie Newsome stated. “We had interest in him a year ago when he first became a free agent before he signed with Seattle.
 
“He’s another proven weapon for our offense – a big receiver with good hands and toughness. The one other thing that every coach and player we talked with about him indicated is that T.J. is a driven player with an excellent work ethic.”
Houshmandzadeh, whose deal with Baltimore was reported to be worth the veteran minimum of $855,000, adds even more firepower to a Ravens’ receiving corps that was a focus during the offseason.  

Baltimore traded for three-time Pro Bowler Anquan Boldin and signed him to a three-year contract extension, keeping him in Baltimore until 2013.  Donte’ Stallworth was brought in as a speedy deep threat, although he will miss several games with a broken foot.  And, the Ravens already had 1,000-yard receiver Derrick Mason in the fold.

Houshmandzadeh recorded at least 904 receiving yards and 73 grabs in each year since 2004.  From 2006-07, Houshmandzadeh boasted three-consecutive 90-catch seasons.

The former seventh-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals (2001) also knows the Ravens well.

In 13 career games versus Baltimore, Houshmandzadeh averaged 5.9 receptions and 75.9 yards, logging 6 six total touchdowns. The best showing of his career was a 171-yard day at M&T Bank Stadium in 2005.

“We saw him more than we wanted making a lot of plays against us,” Newsome added.
 
Houshmandzadeh is scheduled to take a physical on Tuesday before signing his contract.
 
The departure of Clayton means the Ravens will lose a respected locker room voice and a dedicated worker.
 
Clayton, who was a first-round draft pick in 2005, recorded 67 receptions for 939 receiving yards and five touchdowns in his second season with the Ravens, but never again met those numbers.
 
Last year, Clayton totaled 34 catches for 480 yards.
 
With Boldin, Stallworth, Mason and two special teams contributors in wideouts Marcus Smith and David Reed, the Ravens didn’t have room on their roster to keep him.
 
“You never reach a point when it’s easy to release or trade a player you respect,” Newsome explained.  ”Everyone here has the highest regard for Mark. He’ll help the Rams, and it’s good for him that they reached out to get him.
 
“Mark is a good person who did everything he could to help the Ravens on and off the field. In the end, we have to do what we think is best for the team, but letting Mark go hurts. He was first class all the way, even when we met with him about the trade. This is a tough part of the business.”

[url=http://blogs.baltimoreravens.com/2010/09/06/housh-now-a-raven-clayton-a-ram/]View the full article[/url]

[Just_Chad]

Good luck to you Mark, class act all the way.

[Guest Mr. Nobody]

this roster is getting better day by day; plus an extra pick for next year's draft; and when you think a week ago we were all shouting for CB this and that; hat off OZ

[410charm]

welcome to the ravens housh make us proud

[jthoven13]

Yes! No more Clayton. Housh will be a better fit for our slot. Taller and faster and has big play potential. I wish Clayton luck in St. Louis though

[Footballfreak]

Good luck i"m sure well see you again you just may not be a Raven, Best wishes.

[jravens13]

I guess Ozzie want Reed to get on the field more. Clayton wasn't a big contributor on special teams either, so that is probably the main reason why he was let go. Adding Housh makes are already scary offense even scarier. Can't wait for Monday Night!!!!!! The Jets better strap up!!!

[jravens13]

..."cause somebody is gonna get hit"

[Lisa1970]

I'm sorry to see Mark go. He was with us thru some rough years when we really didn't have a good quarterback to get him the ball (talking about Boller, not McNair who was great). He was a solid wide receiver but on the upside now he gets to be the veteran go-to guy on a team that's rebuilding with a new quarterback. Good luck to a class act

[charris3rd]

Mark, thank you for the 5 yrs you gave us. Welcome T.J. to the 2010 Baltimore RAVENS, we are happy to have you with. Bring that same tough attitude you played with against us and we power our way to Dallas.

[B4LT1M0RE SON]

im very excited about tj whosyourmama! thanks to mark clayton for all hes done for the ravens, best of luck mark!!

[Footballfreak]

Welcome T.J. Houshmandzadeh to the Ravens, Good luck this season.

[bmore5205]

mark was a great character....wish him the best

[runcontrol]

i know most don't feel the way i do, but i am going to miss mark, i think he had the ability to have another big year like he did in 05, and with boldin and mason on the other side i thought this was going to be his year, maybe not 939 yds, but somewhere in the 800s. i just remember his big game two years ago against the browns, the had over 100 yds receiving and he even throw a td to mason,

good luck in st louis, with avery out they definitely needed another veteran player, bradford has a lot of potential, we all saw that last thursday, but this might be a rocky year for the both of you

[PSURavens19]

I hated TJ when he was with the Bengals, I guess I don't have a choice now.

[murd410]

Nothing bad to say about Clayton a good man. I'll still be a fan of his

[Nick04263]

I really liked Mark and sad to see him go. The truth of the matter is he wasn't producing on the field and he was a big salary for said production.

[ravensdfan]

I'm sorry to see Clayton go but I do think this is a good move for the Ravens. It should be good for Clayton as well. He will probably see more playing time with the Rams than he would have here. Good luck Mark! Welcome Housh!

[BritishRaven]

I'll be sad to see him go; even if his production hasn't matched up to his first round potential, he was never very outspoken and from what I saw he was a great teammate. Good luck with your career Mark.

Here's hoping the draft pick is a good one!

[raylewisway]

we'll miss u mark. wish u didnt have to go. welcome T.J.

[SuperBowl35Champions]

Ozzy is the man. When we were injured at the CB position he made a move for Josh Wilson. When Stallworth went down with a broken foot he got TJ Houshmandzadeh to fill the void. In Ozzy we trust. This is our year.

[ravennutcase]

i love having t.j. i wanted us to sign him last year i also wanted us to trade for boldin last year it's a year late but i couldn't be more happier stallworth will be back mid season and t.j. can be our number 2 next year cause i think mason will retire after winning a sb this also means david reed can learn from 3 of the best he can take his time and not learn trial by fire

[Raven Riot]

shoulda got rid of marcus smith and kept clayton, hes a good deep threat with speed to keep the safetys back and open up the middle for our beast tight ends and recievers. him and stallworth streaking straight downfield will make much more room in the middle of the field for the running game and short to mid passing game. At least well get a high pick cuz the rams are so, um, not good.

[ravennutcase]

and almost forgot PLEASE NEVER EVER LEAVE US great and powerful OZ

[omar586]

i liked tj when he was w/bungels , he was a productive and quite guy that gets the job done , he's not a diva like u know who

[JoeyFlex5]

the ****** are they gonna release clayton for?? what the heck are we gonna do with marcus smith? ima miss mark clayton i was one of the few who always supported him no matter what kinda mistake he made because he really is a good reciever, he just hasnt had the opportunities

[yakraven]

I can't wait to see the treatment I get today in the Sports Bar here in Central Washington state! When we got Wilson I was totally ignored! I'm totally glad we got TJ. I'm sorry we had to let Clayton go,it really looked from camp he might have a good year. However, in the Rams he'll have more playing time, plus Bradford will benefit from Clayton being there

[ravennutcase]

@Raven Riot & JoeyFlex5 the rams called the ravens about clayton not smith

[Ravens_Flock]

Man................

This team just keeps getting worse and worse. First Barnes, then Williams, now Clayton. It's like they're trying to mortgage the future, just to win now. And it's going to be hilarious, when after all this, if we don't even win the Super Bowl.

[tick101]

I'm really startting to question the moves oz and them are doing. trading clayton. i said it b4. of course his production wasn't up there when you pass 75% of the time to mason run or check down to rice and when mason is really getting double throw to heap. I thank this wasn't a smart move. yea i said it. should've waived or traded smith. just because he did iright in one game you keep him. clayton been making plays for us. you already waived williams all because he wasn't on the special teams... well i say this... we will see if the move was a smart one or a bone headed one.