So we meet again

Veteran Mason seeking fresh start with Texans

This week former Raven Derrik Mason was traded to the Texans from the Jets. It will be interesting to see if he can make a go of it there after a rocky stay in New York. Although I have mixed feelings, I wish him well (just not this week against us).

As a frequent listener (and by frequent I mean every day on my way to and from work) of 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore, I listened to Mason every week of the season during his segment on Norris and Davis so I'm relatively familiar with him and he's a good guy.

So here's my mixed feelings:

1. He's a good guy, dependable receiver and leader in the locker room, but perhaps his voice was too strong. His catches did go up after the incident with Joe on the sidelines last season. And honestly, I just don't want to see anyone, especially one of our own players, grab our quarterback's facemask for any reason!

2. He plays like a Raven. He played with one arm, for a time he was our only legit receiver and he's the Raven's all time leading receiver (12th in NFL history), but his career can't last forever and he doesn't have that element of speed that we've been lacking to go with Joe's arm. It's too bad that we had to let him go, especially since he's still hunting that ring the Ravens have a chance at this season, but it opened the door for Lee Evans and Torrey Smith--I can't wait to see what they can do in tandem with Boldin.

3. Like I said, I wish him well in Houston, but the Jets? Come on! Really? We probably won't ever know if Derrik turned down a pretty good offer from the Ravens to come back after being cut or if the Ravens just didn't pursue him hard, but despite some rockiness on offense so far, I don't think anyone can doubt that the Ravens made the right decision. In Ozzie we trust!

So good luck, Mase. I hope this fresh start works out better than the last one, but this week... GO RAVENS!!! Maybe Kruger will tug your leg again. :-)