BALTIMORE _ The Ravens are signing free-agent wide receiver Seth Roberts to a one-year deal, ESPN reported Friday.
The Oakland Raiders released Roberts on Thursday after four seasons together, meaning he will not cost the Ravens a potential compensatory pick. He was due $4.45 million in base salary in 2019 and had a $4.65 million salary cap hit.
In 15 games last season with Oakland, including seven starts, Roberts had 45 catches for 494 yards, both career highs, and two touchdowns. He was rated the No. 88 wide receiver in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus, and played nearly 80 percent of his snaps in the slot, where Willie Snead IV thrived for the Ravens last season.
The 28-year-old has 1,826 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns in his career. He's also drawn praise for his blocking, a useful skill in the Ravens' run-heavy offense. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Roberts was undrafted out of West Alabama in 2014 and spent his rookie year on the Raiders' practice squad.
Roberts adds experience to a green receiving corps in Baltimore. Snead (651 receiving yards in 2018) and Chris Moore (196 yards) are the team's only wide receivers with an NFL catch. The Ravens cut Michael Crabtree this offseason, and John Brown signed with the Buffalo Bills in free agency. Jordan Lasley did not play a snap in 2018, and fellow rookie Jaleel Scott was on injured reserve all season with a hamstring injury.
In an Instagram post Thursday, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr thanked Roberts for his contributions during their years together in Oakland.
"I appreciate everything you did for our team," he wrote. "From game winning touchdown after game winning touchdown. Your relentless work ethic that took you from an Undrafted rookie to someone who made a team, earned a starting spot, and always showed up when I needed you. From catching passes during the defensives (sic) set of plays every single day, to you even trying to run me over on a reverse haha! Thank you!"
