In a span of 48 hours, veteran wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh went from unemployed to perhaps the most economically sound investment in the NFL.
Houshmandzadeh, released over the weekend by the Seattle Seahawks, signed with the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. He had been just one season into a five-year, $40 million contract in Seattle, where he caught 79 passes for 911 yards and three touchdowns in 2009.
Recommended Stories
Those numbers aren’t earth-shattering. Still, consider that Housh signed with the Ravens for the veteran’s minimum (about $855,000), while the Seahawks are on the hook for the remaining portion ($6.15 million) of his guaranteed contract. For a guy who consistently goes 75/900 and scores a handful of touchdowns, that’s a steal in the NFL — to the tune of about 12 grand a catch based on his eight-year career average.
With perennial 1,000-yard receivers Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason on the roster — and with injury-prone Donte Stallworth shelved until at least late October after undergoing foot surgery — Houshmandzadeh likely slides into the vacant slot receiver position. He’s never been a No. 1 target. And with pass-catching back Ray Rice and tight end Todd Heap also on the Ravens offense, he won’t be one here, either. But he does give Joe Flacco another sure-handed, steady veteran to help move the chains. Chalk it up to another sound and shrewd decision by Ozzie Newsome and the Baltimore brass.
