Shipped to Baltimore



Rafael Reyes had been practicing with the Wraiths team, having solidified his spot in the roster with a 12 million dollar contract spanning over 3 seasons. He was excited about his role on the team, but was seen to be most competitive when it came to the cornerback drills as he clearly wanted to slot himself there as a starter. Rumors of Dirk Cutter being sluggish and nonchalant had fans discussing the possibility of Rafael taking his spot sometime during the regular season. The coach had called Reyes over after he finished taking some pointers from Josh Garden.

(07-23-2017, 03:25 PM)HENDRIX Wrote: receive:

Rafael Reyes - CB
Jonathan Shaloiko - WR

  receive:

Damian West - WR
Leven Novel - RB

It was a completely shock for Reyes. He had yet to play a meaningful game and was already sent packing to a different team. Yellowknife had truly been great, and provided Reyes with a blue print and an idea as to what kind of player he wanted to be in the league but this was something else. Many fans were also shocked by this considering how he was being built up as a swiss-army knife type of player.

There's obviously a few factors that likely went into this decision, but we can't be certain about every single detail.

• Positional issues
There was some serious doubts about Reyes' flexibility in terms of true performance. There was no real starting spot on the roster for a defensive back of his caliber taken in the 11th round. The team had tried him at running back, and the practice results were downright abysmal. With the addition of Novel? They now have a solid back up RB that can give them some positive yardage gains. Damien West is a natural receiver with a lot of potential, so it was a no brainer to trade for him and to bolster their depth. He's much faster and has great hands, compared to the more physical Rafael.

• Contract concerns
Reyes was really adamant about signing only a two-year deal so he could potentially survey some other options for a starting spot if somehow Dirk gets himself back into shape, or if the team didn't give him many chances at the starting CB position. Though they confirmed him to sign for 3 years with the promise that he might be the starter should he put in more work than Cutter.

This was completely confusing for Rafael and made no sense to him, according to reliable sources. In fact he was downright furious that he had been traded right after agreeing to a three year contract, only to be stuck behind Turner and Delacour who are phenomenal talents at the CB position. He felt he at least had a chance at surpassing Cutter in Yellowknife. There was some mutual interest before the draft between Rafael and the Ravens, but he definitely did not want to end up there after Turner had been picked up-- That would be a very tall hurdle to overcome. There is a possibility that Cutter had demanded that the front office choose between himself and Reyes, and that they decided to keep the experienced corner who knew their system well.

"I want to be a starting cornerback. I feel that's where I belong, and I know people are doubting me and my abilities. They want corners with solid zone coverage, or flashy man-to-man techniques. I'm a unique type of corner, and I think my style can translate well if i'm given a shot. I don't know how this will play out but i'm glad Baltimore is letting me see the field consistently as a safety. It might take some time, or a few seasons but I just need to stay dedicated. It might be the Ravens or some other team, but I feel I have the physical ability to take my game to the next level."