Signings, Cuts, Trades

[Charm City]

So I guess we aint trading anybody lol. RG3 if McSorley works out is really our only true option I think.

I actually think TJ and Carr might go for a 6th or something. TJ's contract isn't too crazy, we just have a great backup turned starter in Clark. And 6 mil/year for Carr also isn't ridiculous, we just have good depth there for once

 

[Grim]

I actually think TJ and Carr might go for a 6th or something. TJ's contract isn't too crazy, we just have a great backup turned starter in Clark. And 6 mil/year for Carr also isn't ridiculous, we just have good depth there for once

I’ll be surprised if we have Jefferson on this team in any capacity longer than it takes to release him. A trade would surprise me.

 

[Simba]

I’ll be surprised if we have Jefferson on this team in any capacity longer than it takes to release him. A trade would surprise me.

Agreed. If a team were to trade for him, I feel like that's an admission that they watched 0 tape on him this year. Would think his horrible play plus coming off of that injury forces him to take a cheap, 1-year prove-it deal. Not much value in him as it currently stands.

 

[allblackraven]

I actually think TJ and Carr might go for a 6th or something. TJ's contract isn't too crazy, we just have a great backup turned starter in Clark. And 6 mil/year for Carr also isn't ridiculous, we just have good depth there for once

Give a pick for Jefferson after the play he showed over last couple seasons and that injury? No way.

 

[Grim]

Agreed. If a team were to trade for him, I feel like that's an admission that they watched 0 tape on him this year. Would think his horrible play plus coming off of that injury forces him to take a cheap, 1-year prove-it deal. Not much value in him as it currently stands.

Jefferson just was terrible this year. I’d see him sticking around if he could play the run because we could use him as a LB in that role; however, he showed terrible instincts and took himself out of the play a lot. With how bad our ST was this year, we have to get more DBs who can play there. I don’t see Levine and others back on this team either. I think our DB & WR will look very different as a result. Either way, Jefferson is gone and I think he knows it. We can’t have another safety take himself out of running plays and also not cover either. Thomas can cover but takes himself out of too many run plays.

 

[Simba]

Jefferson just was terrible this year. I’d see him sticking around if he could play the run because we could use him as a LB in that role; however, he showed terrible instincts and took himself out of the play a lot. With how bad our ST was this year, we have to get more DBs who can play there. I don’t see Levine and others back on this team either. I think our DB & WR will look very different as a result. Either way, Jefferson is gone and I think he knows it. We can’t have another safety take himself out of running plays and also not cover either. Thomas can cover but takes himself out of too many run plays.

Yeah Jefferson is done here. Love the guy as a person, but it's time to move on. I think everyone knows it, and no teams are going to be knocking down the door for him. Could honestly see it being a bit of a lengthy stay on the FA market for him. Lots of similar guys have struggled to get work in recent years.

I think Levine is back, mostly because he's the captain on that unit. Could still use a veteran there and Levine shouldn't cost much. But yes, absolutely... ST needs to be a focus. Pretty poor play there this year which is completely out of the norm.

 

[RavensMania]

Jefferson just was terrible this year. I’d see him sticking around if he could play the run because we could use him as a LB in that role; however, he showed terrible instincts and took himself out of the play a lot. With how bad our ST was this year, we have to get more DBs who can play there. I don’t see Levine and others back on this team either. I think our DB & WR will look very different as a result. Either way, Jefferson is gone and I think he knows it. We can’t have another safety take himself out of running plays and also not cover either. Thomas can cover but takes himself out of too many run plays.

we would have to give picks for teams to take jefferson

 

[Grim]

Yeah Jefferson is done here. Love the guy as a person, but it's time to move on. I think everyone knows it, and no teams are going to be knocking down the door for him. Could honestly see it being a bit of a lengthy stay on the FA market for him. Lots of similar guys have struggled to get work in recent years.

I think Levine is back, mostly because he's the captain on that unit. Could still use a veteran there and Levine shouldn't cost much. But yes, absolutely... ST needs to be a focus. Pretty poor play there this year which is completely out of the norm.

I don’t know if Levine comes back because while he is a ST leader, the unit mostly underperformed. I think a shake up will occur there. I could see us go for NE WR Slater in FA if he makes it there. There’s other guys on the market who we could sign as well. It could happen, but I just don’t know for sure.

we would have to give picks for teams to take jefferson

Yeah, no kidding. It would be another Brock Osweiler trade.

 

[RavensMania]

I don’t know if Levine comes back because while he is a ST leader, the unit mostly underperformed. I think a shake up will occur there. I could see us go for NE WR Slater in FA if he makes it there. There’s other guys on the market who we could sign as well. It could happen, but I just don’t know for sure.

Yeah, no kidding. It would be another Brock Osweiler trade.

i could see Slater going to the giants where they just hired joe judge

 

[Simba]

I don’t know if Levine comes back because while he is a ST leader, the unit mostly underperformed. I think a shake up will occur there. I could see us go for NE WR Slater in FA if he makes it there. There’s other guys on the market who we could sign as well. It could happen, but I just don’t know for sure.

Yeah, no kidding. It would be another Brock Osweiler trade.

Based on how they went about the whole Bethel situation this year, I'd think they'd just stay in house for that. Underperfomed, sure. However, we clearly valued the comp pick more than a guy who really seemed to make a difference. Can't see us burning one on a guy like Slater, even though he is the best in the league.

 

[Grim]

i could see Slater going to the giants where they just hired joe judge

Good point. I didn’t even think of that but it could happen. I’m hoping we can lure him away but that makes sense. We will see I guess.

Based on how they went about the whole Bethel situation this year, I'd think they'd just stay in house for that. Underperfomed, sure. However, we clearly valued the comp pick more than a guy who really seemed to make a difference. Can't see us burning one on a guy like Slater, even though he is the best in the league.

I wouldn’t mind bringing back Bethel either, but you’re right on the comp pick. To be fair though, we didn’t expect for Urban to be cut so that’s why we cut Bethel. If that happened again then yeah, but I don’t know if we would avoid signing someone because of a potential comp pick alone. Also, it furthers the point that ST had issues with us cutting Bethel. Not that he was the sole reason our ST went south, but his loss certainly contributed.

 

[rossihunter2]

Good point. I didn’t even think of that but it could happen. I’m hoping we can lure him away but that makes sense. We will see I guess.

I wouldn’t mind bringing back Bethel either, but you’re right on the comp pick. To be fair though, we didn’t expect for Urban to be cut so that’s why we cut Bethel. If that happened again then yeah, but I don’t know if we would avoid signing someone because of a potential comp pick alone. Also, it furthers the point that ST had issues with us cutting Bethel. Not that he was the sole reason our ST went south, but his loss certainly contributed.

we might have cut bethel anyway - would have been for a 5th round pick in stead of a 4th though - but it would have been 3 comp picks vs 2 which clearly has value to us (would have got a pick close to equivalent in value to the one we sent the rams in the peters trade which would have been good business tbh)

 

[D1City55]

Man, I hate to say this but it's going to be tough to make a lot of moves this offseason. Brian McFarland projects us 23M and I'm unsure if that includes us being within Rule 51. Regardless that's without taking any extensions in account. I think Judon returns if the price is right, but if that move is made it will only leave us room to sign one or two guys really who are impact players. The Ravens always go into the season preserving cap in order to make a move if need be. I think they would like to reserve between 3-6M for cap space. I think the team is going to rely on a lot of guys to make a huge jump.

 

[Grim]

As for guys who we should bring back and let go, here are my thoughts:
We should re-sign Jimmy Smith, Josh Bynes, Pernell McPhee, Jihad Ward, Justin Ellis. I honestly think this may be the year we go a bit aggressive in FA. I don’t think we re-sign Judon nor Pierce and I don’t expect Pierce to get what some may think he will on the open market. We’ll be lucky to get a 4th for him Imho and I think we’re more likely to get a 5th. I don’t think Jimmy will have a big market because of other CBs available in FA.

I think it would be best if we signed a FA edge defender like Markus Golden, signed a G like Scherff if he walks or Thuney, sign an ILB like Schobert for the middle of the defense. This is obviously a lot of money with Stanley also needing a deal and Humphrey, but the only pressing guy between them is Stanley atm. I’m not sure if we will do Thuney or Scherff though because of Stanley needing a new deal and how much that would require for OL investment. If we made these moves, our edge defender need would be lessened. We could also sign Dareus if and likely when he’s released from JAX.

 

[Sami84]

As for guys who we should bring back and let go, here are my thoughts:
We should re-sign Jimmy Smith, Josh Bynes, Pernell McPhee, Jihad Ward, Justin Ellis. I honestly think this may be the year we go a bit aggressive in FA. I don’t think we re-sign Judon nor Pierce and I don’t expect Pierce to get what some may think he will on the open market. We’ll be lucky to get a 4th for him Imho and I think we’re more likely to get a 5th. I don’t think Jimmy will have a big market because of other CBs available in FA.

I think it would be best if we signed a FA edge defender like Markus Golden, signed a G like Scherff if he walks or Thuney, sign an ILB like Schobert for the middle of the defense. This is obviously a lot of money with Stanley also needing a deal and Humphrey, but the only pressing guy between them is Stanley atm. I’m not sure if we will do Thuney or Scherff though because of Stanley needing a new deal and how much that would require for OL investment. If we made these moves, our edge defender need would be lessened. We could also sign Dareus if and likely when he’s released from JAX.

I'm going to disagree with a lot here. We don't need Jihad Ward ( personally i dont think he was that good despite the praise).
I believe that unless humphrey dramatically improves ( becomes a legit top 5 corner) we don't have to worry about him leaving in 2 seasons I don't see him as indispensable or for us to struggle to find a very good corner in on of the first 2 rounds in 2021.

Let humphrey go if he's asking for record CB signings. Eye test? He's a good corner, he's not a special corner.
Focus on Stanley. We also need to stop signing guys who are past it. Guys like Dareus are DONE. Golden is just a bit more than a JAG.

 

[Grim]

I'm going to disagree with a lot here. We don't need Jihad Ward ( personally i dont think he was that good despite the praise).
I believe that unless humphrey dramatically improves ( becomes a legit top 5 corner) we don't have to worry about him leaving in 2 seasons I don't see him as indispensable or for us to struggle to find a very good corner in on of the first 2 rounds in 2021.

Let humphrey go if he's asking for record CB signings. Eye test? He's a good corner, he's not a special corner.
Focus on Stanley. We also need to stop signing guys who are past it. Guys like Dareus are DONE. Golden is just a bit more than a JAG.

We don’t need Ward but he’s better than nothing. I also don’t think he’ll cost a lot. I agree we should focus on Stanley but Humphrey is a good player. I think he is a little overrated this year but I do think he’s done better in the past so he could’ve struggled because of a few reasons. One of those reasons is playing slot when that’s not really his thing. Dareus is OK as long as it’s relatively cheap and I think it would be because he’s had a down year. I’d rather get Campbell but I don’t know if he’ll be cut. Dareus definitely will be Imho. As for signing guys past their prime, it has worked out for us before. One of the best examples is Steve Smith Sr. Not sure I agree on Golden being JAG but I wouldn’t call him an elite pass rusher either. It depends on what he would command in terms of a deal too. I wouldn’t pay him what Judon will get that’s for sure. We do need an edge defender though and we can’t go into the season with nobody but Ferguson.

 

[Sami84]

We don’t need Ward but he’s better than nothing. I also don’t think he’ll cost a lot. I agree we should focus on Stanley but Humphrey is a good player. I think he is a little overrated this year but I do think he’s done better in the past so he could’ve struggled because of a few reasons. One of those reasons is playing slot when that’s not really his thing. Dareus is OK as long as it’s relatively cheap and I think it would be because he’s had a down year. I’d rather get Campbell but I don’t know if he’ll be cut. Dareus definitely will be Imho. As for signing guys past their prime, it has worked out for us before. One of the best examples is Steve Smith Sr. Not sure I agree on Golden being JAG but I wouldn’t call him an elite pass rusher either. It depends on what he would command in terms of a deal too. I wouldn’t pay him what Judon will get that’s for sure. We do need an edge defender though and we can’t go into the season with nobody but Ferguson.

I lauded the steve smith signing before he played a snap for us. Dareus isnt close as a d linesman as steve smith was as a WR.

 

[rossihunter2]

I'm going to disagree with a lot here. We don't need Jihad Ward ( personally i dont think he was that good despite the praise).
I believe that unless humphrey dramatically improves ( becomes a legit top 5 corner) we don't have to worry about him leaving in 2 seasons I don't see him as indispensable or for us to struggle to find a very good corner in on of the first 2 rounds in 2021.

Let humphrey go if he's asking for record CB signings. Eye test? He's a good corner, he's not a special corner.
Focus on Stanley. We also need to stop signing guys who are past it. Guys like Dareus are DONE. Golden is just a bit more than a JAG.

not even going to touch on the humphrey bit because it seems neither of us will ever change our minds...

in terms of jihad ward i dont see really any problem with us keeping him - he'll cost basically nothing but he added value to our defensive front and is versatile enough that he can play different spots in different situations for us - no harm in re-signing him at all for what he's likely to cost

 

[Grim]

not even going to touch on the humphrey bit because it seems neither of us will ever change our minds...

in terms of jihad ward i dont see really any problem with us keeping him - he'll cost basically nothing but he added value to our defensive front and is versatile enough that he can play different spots in different situations for us - no harm in re-signing him at all for what he's likely to cost

I share the same thoughts. I just think we can’t rest with the status quo but I also think we had pieces that could have helped. I really think this defense would be different if we had McPhee and didn’t lose him. Granted we may have not had Ward but I think he did well with all things considered.

 

[RavensMania]

Man, I hate to say this but it's going to be tough to make a lot of moves this offseason. Brian McFarland projects us 23M and I'm unsure if that includes us being within Rule 51. Regardless that's without taking any extensions in account. I think Judon returns if the price is right, but if that move is made it will only leave us room to sign one or two guys really who are impact players. The Ravens always go into the season preserving cap in order to make a move if need be. I think they would like to reserve between 3-6M for cap space. I think the team is going to rely on a lot of guys to make a huge jump.

McFarland is taking into account RFAs and his numbers tend to be very accurate.

I've posted the link here, just scroll down to the bottom

https://russellstreetreport.com/salarycap/