That’s So Raven
When the Seahawks released TJ Houshmandzadeh this weekend, we knew he wouldn’t be out of work for long. In fact, there were easily eight or nine teams who were rumored to have interest.
Enter the curveball.
The Baltimore Raves have surprisingly signed him to a one-year, $855,000 contract. This addition is sure to add quality depth to a Ravens team suddenly stacked with solid wide receivers.
Houshmandzadeh joins Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason to form a suddenly apt receiving corps.
While this is a great move for Houshmandzadeh’s quest to position himself to win a Super Bowl, it’s not great for his fantasy value.
Here are the ramifications of this suprise signing:
TJ Houshmandzadeh, WR, BAL
Houshmandzadeh would have been a key component in Seattle. In Baltimore, he’s going to simply be a complimentary role player.
With Boldin and Mason entrenched as starters, Houshmandzadeh  should slide nicely into the No. 3 role.
While he may eventually overtake Mason for the No. 2 job, it’s not going to happen immediately.
With Todd Heap still a big part of the offense as well, Houshmandzadeh is going to stuggle to get targets. Fact is, it’s going to take some injuries for him to be prominent again.
He’s barely worth a roster spot in redraft leagues now. He should remain on rosters in dynasty leagues, based on the deal only being for one year.
In the end, this is tough pill to swallow for Houshmandzadeh in dynasty leagues.
Anquan Boldin, WR, BAL
Boldin’s role won’t change at all.
He’s going to stay put as the No. 1 wide receiver on the Ravens. You can expect the same number of targets and production you would have before this surprise move.
He’s a middle tier No. 2 receiver in fantasy leagues this year.
Derrick Mason, WR, BAL
This isn’t great news for Mason.
He was in line for a great number of targets. While his production was most certainly going to go down already, this move makes that even more certain.
I would expect Mason and Houshmandzadeh to both post similar numbers. If you were able to get 700 yards and four touchdowns from either of them, that would be a victory.
Mark Clayton, WR, BAL
The signing was bad for Mason’s value, but it’s a death blow for Clayton.
Rumors are already circulating that the Ravens will attempt to move him and waive him if they can’t.
Joe Flacco, QB, BAL
It can’t hurt to have one more weapon. He’s running out of excuses not to have a major breakout season.
Santana Moss, WR, WAS, and Louis Murphy, WR, OAK
Why are they on this list, you ask?
The Raiders and Redskins were rumored to have the most interest in Houshmandzadeh.
Their failure to sign him cements these two as No. 1 options for their respective teams.
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
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