Those who aren’t willing to gamble often won’t win. Sometimes, it’s the aggressive thinkers who are rewarded, but in risk-taking, there’s that word that makes us uncomfortable… Risk… Thankfully, the Baltimore Ravens don’t have any issues with complacency. They’d never be able to survive the gauntlet known as AFC North football if they did.

Their rivals are among the league leaders in risk-taking. The Pittsburgh Steelers added Aaron Rodgers, and no one knew if he could play anymore. They and the Cincinnati Bengals gambled with team chemistry by unnecessarily lengthening contract negotiations with their defensive stars.

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We’ve spent hours watching. There’s no need to mention further what did and didn’t happen, nor is there a need to bring up the Cleveland Browns and their missteps. But, if we did, we could certainly mention Deshaun Watson’s fully guaranteed contract, or how they turned heads by drafting Shedeur Sanders this past April. That Sanders thing may one day work out, though.

The point is that some gambles work, and some don’t. Eric DeCosta and company take risks all the time, but we could be venturing towards buyer’s remorse as it relates to a veteran offseason addition.

There are different ways to win in the NFL. Most teams strive to find a nice balance of youth and veteran presence. Jaire Alexander was supposed to provide the latter, but he hasn’t been seen since an awful debut in the regular-season opener.

The Ravens‘ investment in Jaire Alexander isn’t yielding any return.

Baltimore entered Week 4 minus the services of Nnamdi Madubuike and Broderick Washington. Travis Jones and Kyle Van Noy were also on the shelf. After the matchup, they added Roquan Smith, Nate Wiggins, and Marlon Humphrey to their list of the walking wounded. Smith will miss multiple weeks, as will Marlon Humphrey.

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In other words, most of their defensive starters are unavailable. That obviously isn’t ideal. That casts light back on Alexander. He’s still dealing with a knee issue (PCL) that began plaguing him last season.

He’s been scratched from the lineup each of the past three games. A low-risk, high-reward signing acquired last June, Baltimore can certainly do worse than paying a former All-Pro a one-year deal worth up to $6 million.

Based on the return on investment, even that sounds like too high a price tag. Perhaps the Ravens were too quick to move off Jalyn Armour-Davis. He was a possible breakout candidate, but alas, his contribution is no longer feasible as he was waived due to depth and picked up by the Tennessee Titans.

Alexander can and is expected to return to the lineup at some point. He has practiced, but there has been no confidence in adding him to the game-day roster. While it’s probably too early to label this a failed signing, it is becoming increasingly apparent that he needs to be back on the field sooner rather than later.

This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Ravens could have some buyer’s remorse with Jaire Alexander