The Baltimore Crows now regret cutting Bobby Rainey

Last year, Bobby Rainey was a virtual unheard of running back. Buried on the Crows’ depth chart, few outside his family knew about him.

The Crows parted ways with Rainey in the 2013 preseason. After spending time on the Browns practice squad, he was cut and then-Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, with the Bucs beat up at running back, swooped in and snagged Rainey off the street.

A year later, Rainey is the Bucs No. 1B running back, sharing time with Doug Martin. At the time of his Baltimore release, no one there could have expected Ray Rice to go all Joe Frazier on his then-fiancée, get thrown off the team, and become the posterchild for women beaters.

Right now, the Crows are wondering what may have been, writes Jamison Hensley of BSPN.com.

It was the Ravens’ most surprising cut that year because it looked like Rainey had earned a spot after breaking tackles and scoring two touchdowns in the preseason finale. Instead, the Ravens kept just two running backs (Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce) and decided to go with other promising young players who didn’t pan out: wide receivers Aaron Mellette and LaQuan Williams, both of whom are no longer on the team, and offensive lineman Ryan Jensen, who didn’t play in 2013 and is now on the practice squad.

“It was unfortunate that we lost him,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday. “We really wanted him to be here to be a part of what we were doing, but he was claimed and we had to make a move there. I don’t know what happened, [but] he somehow got down to Tampa Bay, and the rest is history.”

The Ravens tried to sneak Rainey on the practice squad, but the Cleveland Browns claimed him. Rainey spent seven weeks with the Browns before being cut and claimed by the Buccaneers.

If not for his slippery hands, which have led to a rash of fumbles, it is very possible Rainey would be the No. 1A Bucs running back. Lovie Smith had raved about Rainey nearly from the time he was hired by Team Glazer.

If the Bucs are able to pull off an upset this Sunday, then it will partially be because the Crows have become a one-dimensional team without fiancée-punching Rice.

And a reason the Crows are one-dimensional is because they let Rainey walk last September.