• Welcome to PurpleFlock! Be sure to sign up here so that you can chat with your fellow Ravens fans.

The 2021 Offseason Thread

Sandtown

Pro Bowler
Craig Ver Steeg taking over from Weiss as RBs coach - got to say im a tad underwhelmed by that lol - dude's been on staff for like 15 years and only had about 3 years where he took a position group - QB coach in 2011, Senior OL coach in 2013 and was an RB assistant coach in 2019 before being promoted in 2020 - apparently has worked with wide receivers too

seems to be the guy who just works somewhere on the offence each year which isn't a bad thing - just, as an outsider, it's unexpected that he'd take full responsibility over an entire position... just seems odd after 13 years working with the offence

but i guess we're not really in need of new ideas at RB lol - more of the same please...

It's interesting that they promoted him because he been counted on as their senior offensive assistant for long and been asked to help with game planning to along with other things.I guess Keith Williams would be the one taking on some of the role he had through out the years.
 

Simba

Staff Member
Moderator
think we've got jordan mills as well - but again not someone we hope to see on the field lol

completely forgot about smith haha

Think Mills is also one of those guys that shows on the roster but was never actually re-signed after his PS contract expired. So really only Andre Smith right now lol
 

drjohnnyfever

Pro Bowler
20 mil against the cap?? This could be highly catastrophic. This will be resolved before Mar 17th I would presume. The sooner the better and it makes no damn sense how the rules weren't followed.

If a team can't void the contract of a player who cold-cocks a team mate then all is lost.

They might as well have guaranteed contracts like baseball or treat contracts as such for cap purposes. Clearly, these are the shenanigans the player's union is trying to pull. Another argument for not signing volatile players despite their greatness.

Holding ET out of play, just paying him for a season, then releasing him would have been cheaper, wouldn't it have? If the argument is the grounds of the release, how is "conduct that adversely affects the team" meant to be interpreted? Do you need to tell the player to go sit in the corner first? And if he doesn't calm down for his time out period THEN you can "fire" him. Good heavens. What a world...

Should have told him, "Hey, that was quite a "sucker" punch. Line up for the next series, Earl." smh
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
If a team can't void the contract of a player who cold-cocks a team mate then all is lost.

They might as well have guaranteed contracts like baseball or treat contracts as such for cap purposes. Clearly, these are the shenanigans the player's union is trying to pull. Another argument for not signing volatile players despite their greatness.

Holding ET out of play, just paying him for a season, then releasing him would have been cheaper, wouldn't it have? If the argument is the grounds of the release, how is "conduct that adversely affects the team" meant to be interpreted? Do you need to tell the player to go sit in the corner first? And if he doesn't calm down for his time out period THEN you can "fire" him. Good heavens. What a world...

Should have told him, "Hey, that was quite a "sucker" punch. Line up for the next series, Earl." smh

not the point is that he costs the same as if he was playing because the money we didn't pay him was "guaranteed" within his contract - we dismissed him with certain language that would allow us to not pay him his 10m guaranteed salary for 2020 and he's filed a grievance to get that money still (albeit supposedly 40% of that money should have been on our 2020 cap and it wasn't)

and for what it's worth the ravens were unlikely to even try this unless they felt like they had a pretty good case to use that clause (they'd apparently been tracking his indiscretions and internal issues for months at that point)

that is fully separate to the 5m that he already counted against the cap in 2020 and the 10m he'll count against the cap in 2021 because of his signing bonus

so if we lose the grievance he'll cost the exact same (it's just that it will come onto our cap this year rather than 2020)
 

drjohnnyfever

Pro Bowler
I get it, Ross. I was engaging in a bit of conjecture, ridicule, and retrospection...

But the real point is, what's the bar for actually dumping a guy with guaranteed money if sucker-punching a team-mate doesn't qualify? I'd love to sucker punch some of the people I work with and be able to get paid anyway. It's a sham.

All that stuff with him and the broad and his brother is really not part of this, imo. It's embarrassing to the team, yes, but none of it was illegal. The only value it has is that patience was demonstrated, the team spoke to him about image and how his contract comes into play...

But I digress, if you can't fire a guy who punches a co-worker outright, all is lost.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
I get it, Ross. I was engaging in a bit of conjecture, ridicule, and retrospection...

But the real point is, what's the bar for actually dumping a guy with guaranteed money if sucker-punching a team-mate doesn't qualify? I'd love to sucker punch some of the people I work with and be able to get paid anyway. It's a sham.

All that stuff with him and the broad and his brother is really not part of this, imo. It's embarrassing to the team, yes, but none of it was illegal. The only value it has is that patience was demonstrated, the team spoke to him about image and how his contract comes into play...

But I digress, if you can't fire a guy who punches a co-worker outright, all is lost.

tbf the ravens think they can - the grievance hasn't been resolved and it's likely they only attempt this if they think they have a reasonable chance of winning

as for the incident with his brother - that wouldn't have factored as an actual issue for the firing - it's likely the only thing concerning that in their documented behaviour to support his dismissal is the fact he didn't inform the team of the incident for a whole month afterwards

mostly it'll be about his constant lateness to team meetings and activities (that resulted in multiple fines - and included one incidence where he said he had to go and wash his car), the altercation with brandon williams during the 2019 season, the continued lateness in the 2020 offseason (and lack of effort to spend time learning the playbook), and obviously the sucker-punch of his team-mate

and some other things im probably forgetting

the problem is that apparently he didn't have a "conduct detrimental" specific clause in his contract but there is some wording in other various NFL-wide conduct policies that could void guarantees based on personal conduct
 

drjohnnyfever

Pro Bowler
tbf the ravens think they can - the grievance hasn't been resolved and it's likely they only attempt this if they think they have a reasonable chance of winning

as for the incident with his brother - that wouldn't have factored as an actual issue for the firing - it's likely the only thing concerning that in their documented behaviour to support his dismissal is the fact he didn't inform the team of the incident for a whole month afterwards

mostly it'll be about his constant lateness to team meetings and activities (that resulted in multiple fines - and included one incidence where he said he had to go and wash his car), the altercation with brandon williams during the 2019 season, the continued lateness in the 2020 offseason (and lack of effort to spend time learning the playbook), and obviously the sucker-punch of his team-mate

and some other things im probably forgetting

the problem is that apparently he didn't have a "conduct detrimental" specific clause in his contract but there is some wording in other various NFL-wide conduct policies that could void guarantees based on personal conduct

I think we both see this clearly. I'm not disagreeing with you, Ross. Certainly, the Ravens could win. I'm doing a bit of raging at the greater world... this is not a "real world" issue.

It's an issue of a "bubble world." The problem is that litigation and social media like to treat these issues like they are "real world." If any "normal" person were to do what he did in a "normal" workplace, after determining he wasn't provoked, but just "angry," he's be fired. Cut and dry AND likely on the hook for damages from resulting law suits from the poor soul he suckered in front of his cubicle. But this "bubble world" decision has implications on how a business can be run. It's all ludicrous to me. Cue the Ludicris videos. ^_^
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
How do we feel about Corey Davis?

edit: after posting this I went to a Corey Davis highlights video, comment section is almost exclusively ravens fans clamoring, like literally, 9 of 10 comments is ravens fans lol
 

Simba

Staff Member
Moderator
How do we feel about Corey Davis?

edit: after posting this I went to a Corey Davis highlights video, comment section is almost exclusively ravens fans clamoring, like literally, 9 of 10 comments is ravens fans lol

Like him but don't love him. Think he's better than the stats suggest but also not sure he's going to take over a game either. I'd put him in that good to pretty good tier. It could be a lot worse, but it's also a significant upgrade for us.
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
Like him but don't love him. Think he's better than the stats suggest but also not sure he's going to take over a game either. I'd put him in that good to pretty good tier. It could be a lot worse, but it's also a significant upgrade for us.
yeah the key is that we dont need someone to take over a game at wr, we have our takeover guys, lamar jackson takes over a game as easily as anyone ive ever seen, jk dobbins looks very much like a taveover kinda player, and andrews has taken over a few games himself as he and lamar get on a hot streak adlibbing together.

we need a well priced guy, who is a natural receiver, and can run a full route tree at a quality level and be physical at and after the catch point and as a blocker.

corey davis, who i dont think is a world beater or a franchise changer by any means, is still kinda exactly what fits the ravens profile of a FA addition this year. i still would love to target a guy on day 2, but i think hed be a pretty major addition, like he already comes from a run heavy offense and was asked to make those "payoff" plays you want from a run heavy offense, which he did very well, he and hollywood would complement eachother quite well.
 

Simba

Staff Member
Moderator
yeah the key is that we dont need someone to take over a game at wr, we have our takeover guys, lamar jackson takes over a game as easily as anyone ive ever seen, jk dobbins looks very much like a taveover kinda player, and andrews has taken over a few games himself as he and lamar get on a hot streak adlibbing together.

we need a well priced guy, who is a natural receiver, and can run a full route tree at a quality level and be physical at and after the catch point and as a blocker.

corey davis, who i dont think is a world beater or a franchise changer by any means, is still kinda exactly what fits the ravens profile of a FA addition this year. i still would love to target a guy on day 2, but i think hed be a pretty major addition, like he already comes from a run heavy offense and was asked to make those "payoff" plays you want from a run heavy offense, which he did very well, he and hollywood would complement eachother quite well.

The price is what has me curious. If Robinson, Godwin, and Golladay all get tagged, Davis is one of the top options. Does a team pay him as such? I’d guess they would. And while he’s good, I’m not outbidding for him.
 

RaineV1

Ravens Ring of Honor
How do we feel about Corey Davis?

edit: after posting this I went to a Corey Davis highlights video, comment section is almost exclusively ravens fans clamoring, like literally, 9 of 10 comments is ravens fans lol
He'll give us a physical and reliable guy to move the chains and target when Lamar is scrambling. He's not a world beater by any stretch of the imagination, but he's an affordable WR2/3 that gives us a level of reliability that we don't really have right now.
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
The price is what has me curious. If Robinson, Godwin, and Golladay all get tagged, Davis is one of the top options. Does a team pay him as such? I’d guess they would. And while he’s good, I’m not outbidding for him.
oh im not getting into a bidding war for him lol, i just dont think hes gonna get huge offers, i feel like we would be able to make him a respectable offer that would be close to what hes being offered elsewhere
 

Simba

Staff Member
Moderator
oh im not getting into a bidding war for him lol, i just dont think hes gonna get huge offers, i feel like we would be able to make him a respectable offer that would be close to what hes being offered elsewhere

The guy did put up almost 1000 yards in a rushing offense. I don’t think he’s going to have a small market. I could see him in the $15M a year range.
 

rmcjacket23

Ravens Ring of Honor
The guy did put up almost 1000 yards in a rushing offense. I don’t think he’s going to have a small market. I could see him in the $15M a year range.
I doubt it. I think there's multiple things going against him...
1. I actually think the Golladay/Godwin and maybe even Robinson range is closer to $15M than it is to $20M. This is not a good year for anybody to be signing multi-year, long term extensions. As much as the WR market has exploded, there's still only 4 guys making $20M+, and like 6-7 guys making $18M+. I think there's a LOT of question marks about Golladay and Godwin about whether they can be true "#1" WRs in any offense.
2. Davis has had largely inconsistent production and a lot of injuries issues in the last four years, so I think teams will factor that in.
 

Simba

Staff Member
Moderator
I doubt it. I think there's multiple things going against him...
1. I actually think the Golladay/Godwin and maybe even Robinson range is closer to $15M than it is to $20M. This is not a good year for anybody to be signing multi-year, long term extensions. As much as the WR market has exploded, there's still only 4 guys making $20M+, and like 6-7 guys making $18M+. I think there's a LOT of question marks about Golladay and Godwin about whether they can be true "#1" WRs in any offense.
2. Davis has had largely inconsistent production and a lot of injuries issues in the last four years, so I think teams will factor that in.

I guess we’ll see. I just don’t see him being a “cheap” option in any way. He’s gonna get paid.
 

rmcjacket23

Ravens Ring of Honor
I guess we’ll see. I just don’t see him being a “cheap” option in any way. He’s gonna get paid.
Spotrac, which isn't the gospel mind you, has his market value at a hair under $10M a year. I think it'll be in the $10-12M range.

It would slot him in with the Tyler Boyd/Robbie Anderson types, which I think is fitting.

Its not impossible somebody goes up to like $15M, but that would put him above the likes of Diggs and Adams (easily the two best receivers in the league last year) and he would be up in the group with like the Thielen's of the world, which I don't think anybody would expect.

Some of those deals, like Adams, are admittedly stale somewhat, but we're also talking about what is likely to be a down year for free agents also.

I actually think Davis fits the mold of precisely the type of guy who would and even should take like a one year, $8-10M deal, and look to leverage that into something bigger next offseason.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
The price is what has me curious. If Robinson, Godwin, and Golladay all get tagged, Davis is one of the top options. Does a team pay him as such? I’d guess they would. And while he’s good, I’m not outbidding for him.

i honestly think he's getting 15m/yr maybe more - whether that puts him out of our range remains to be seen (i think it probably does if we're remotely looking at offensive linemen which Zrebiec seems fairly confident we are)
 
Top