Did Baltimore Ravens want to part ways with Ed Reed?

The Baltimore Ravens never wanted to keep Ed Reed. That was obvious from the outside when we saw the contract proposals which were offered to the veteran safety. Now someone closer to the situation writes that the Ravens only "made it appear" they were bidding to keep him.

"Ravens coach John Harbaugh wanted Reed back as much as he wants a root canal," Mike Preston of The Baltimore Sun wrote in a column published Monday.

The Ravens didn't completely back out of the mix for Reed out of respect, but their offers showed that they truly didn't value him. The Houston Texans were willing to pay more money and they got him easily.

Reed, of course, wasn't the only Ravens veteran to leave this offseason. Preston notes that offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie remains a free agent, but it appears his chances of returning to the Ravens are slim. There doesn't look to be a lot of interest from the Ravens in bringing McKinnie back.

It's been an offseason of change in Baltimore, but most of the guys the Ravens lost were either part-time starters like Paul Kruger and Dannell Ellerbe or veterans that the Ravens simply didn't want to keep like Reed and McKinnie.