Three days before the official start of free agency, the Ravens have watched the prospective pool of impact receivers nearly dry up.
With playmakers such as Randy Moss, Muhsin Muhammad and Jerry Porter already gone, the Ravens' depleted wish list presumably is topped by Derrick Mason.
A salary-cap cut by the Tennessee Titans, Mason is widely considered the only difference-maker at receiver heading into free agency. Ravens officials spoke with Mason's agent yesterday, but no visit has been scheduled.
If the Ravens fail to land Mason, they would be forced to fill their front-line receiver void with career No. 2 wide-outs such as T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rod Gardner or Plaxico Burress.
Despite this pressing need, the Ravens historically have never been a team to make an early splash in free agency.
"Necessity's a poor negotiator," coach Brian Billick said Friday at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. "You want to ease your way into it and see how the thing pans out [and] what the market is. [But] we will be very aggressive."
An aggressive approach may be the only way the Ravens will be able to sign Mason.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are reportedly the early front-runners for Mason, given their favorable salary-cap situation ($16 million under) and the fact that Mason's receivers coach, Steve Walters, joined the Jaguars' staff this offseason.
Along with the Ravens, who are approximately $15 million under the cap, the Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals are expected to join the pursuit of Mason.
A two-time Pro Bowl player, Mason is the type of consistent receiver the Ravens are desperately seeking. He led the Titans in receptions the past four seasons, including 95 catches in 2003 and 96 last season.
The only concerns are his age (he turned 31 last month) and his size (5 feet 10, 190 pounds).
"We're just in the process of sorting through the interested teams and we're just fielding offers," Mason told the Chattanooga Times Free Press yesterday. "I'd like to get something done as quickly as possible. Hopefully by Thursday or Friday, we can have something done, if not before then."
Besides a market-value contract - Muhammad received $12 million guaranteed on a six-year deal and Porter got $7 million guaranteed on a five-year contract - Mason said he has other criteria for his next team.
