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Signings, Cuts, Trades
- Thread starter RavensMania
- Start date
hard to say - he still looked super explosive last year when he was on the field though
problem is at 32 how much do you trust that sustaining (and for how long) + the holes it leaves in other spots that you can no longer pay for + the draft capital lost acquiring him (in 2022 when we likely need as many picks as we can get)
i think if he went elsewhere he'd be a lot less successful - he's in the perfect situation
Ellicottraven
Ravens Ring of Honor
Too many questions I agree. However, if he can come here one year, help our passing offense keep up with our running offense, does it really matter? I don't think there is a team that can keep up defensively with a passing Lamar that throws to receivers that can't be covered one on one, opens up the middle for Mandrews and the long ball to Brown. Add to that Lamar's otherworldly talent of making a bad play turn into a great one, I think he'll be MVP again, not to mention he may take us all the way. We need to afford him the opportunity other QBs like Allen, Murray and Mahomes are afforded by their teams. I agree it is unlikely, but one WR1 of Julio Jones stature may make a huge difference.
rmcjacket23
Ravens Ring of Honor
Likely too late. His rookie deal is essentially over after 2021.
drjohnnyfever
Pro Bowler
I don't doubt this. This is our MO with WR's. He fits very nicely into that Mason, Boldin, Smith Sr. roll. I'm just worried about the salary. A renegotiated contract would be a must if we still have plans to extend Lamar before his rookie deal is up. But that's another discussion about those plans.
I would be JACKED to have JJ on this team.
rmcjacket23
Ravens Ring of Honor
Well, I would say its unlikely that Julio would accept a paycut, given that he's still reasonably affordable for the acquiring team for the next three years (3 years, ~$40M). We would have to restructure his deal so that he converts salary into bonus money, so we could lower his 2021 cap hit. That current hit would be $15.3M for 2021. We would probably need to shave that at least in half, and possibly lower, to bring him on.
If you follow RSR's salary cap tracker, we have ~$15M in cap space right now. A good chunk of that is already earmarked for non-FA/trade acquisitions. ~$3M for draft picks, and another ~$4M for the rule of 51 ending and practice squad players.
That puts you at ~$8M in space right there. That doesn't account for the cap space you'd like to have "in the bank" going into the season to account for injuries or mid-season roster changes. Most teams want $3-5M there. So like your "effective" cap space, right now, is like $5M. That's how much you have to spend on FA acquisition or traded players without restructuring existing contracts to create space.
So if we were to restructure Julio's deal, we still likely would need to do a contract restructure, or two, of existing Ravens (likely Stanley and Marlon) in order to afford him. And that's ignoring the fact that we're still looking to sign a veteran RT in the market, and we're looking to sign veteran pass rusher(s). I don't see any scenario where you get all three, so getting Julio will almost certainly cost you one or both of the other two.
So its not impossible, but there are a LOT of barriers to make it happen. I would say if the Ravens add a WR before the end of day two, it would decrease the likelihood of a trade to near zero. Certainly any WR added tomorrow night would squash those possibilities immediately, because it just wouldn't make sense from a roster construction standpoint. If we somehow head into Saturday with no WRs added, I'll start to buy into a trade possibility as more likely, but the price point is still an issue.
JAAM
Hall of Famer
A trade would more than likely happen today or tomorrow before the draft so both teams can adjust their boards accordingly. If we trade for Julio today or tomorrow, that 99.9% takes us out of picking a WR in the 1st, and I think a Julio trade would signal a rebuild in Atlanta, so they would have to adjust accordingly during this years draft. That’s just from what I’ve been reading.
rmcjacket23
Ravens Ring of Honor
Financially, I don't think Atlanta can trade him until after June 1st. I suppose you could "agree to terms" on a trade, but it wouldn't be effective until after June 1st, meaning whatever draft picks they get likely couldn't be for this year.
Extra salary cap space for 2021 is really the only reason I see for Atlanta to trade Julio, and they gain no cap space whatsoever (actually lose $200K of it) by trading him before June 1. With a post-June 1 trade, they're able to spread out his dead money over a two year period, and gain cap space this year.
I don't buy a trade of Julio signals a rebuild either. If they traded Julio AND drafted a QB at #4, then possibly I'd agree. If they trade Julio and then draft Pitts or Chase, they're not really dramatically worse as an offense (assuming those guys are good) and they just create more cap space for themselves.
They have at least 1, and probably 2, more years of Matt Ryan, from a financial perspective. So I don't think they're going the QB route. Next year would certainly be an option, though.
drjohnnyfever
Pro Bowler
Hence, "I'm just worried about the salary. A renegotiated salary would be a must..." I think more years than the 3 he has remaining at the same or a little more guaranteed money would probably do the trick. So a 4-6 year deal with smaller yearly salary and maybe a bonus this year? who knows. If EDC wants the guy he'll make it work. And that probably would include some restructures.
I hope the Ravens have an awesome draft! We love you guys.
rmcjacket23
Ravens Ring of Honor
Its possible, but I doubt the Ravens would be looking to do an extension with a player who a) has three years left on his current deal and b) would be 35 when the current deal is over. His 2021 salary is already guaranteed, and I don't think he's the kind of player, at this stage, where you want to be doing like a 3-4 commitment of guaranteed money.
You're really just pushing dead money into years where he won't be here at that point, which I think we'd try to avoid.
well at least he's not suggesting that they're actually interested in rousseau... just speculating
JAAM
Hall of Famer
Dom McRaven
Hall of Famer
KEEP BELIEVING!
UPennChem
Hall of Famer
What does "in" mean? Is that the same "in" that all 31 other teams are? Or are we legitimately trying to make it happen.
JAAM
Hall of Famer
I’m going with the latter without trying to be bias lol. I don’t think he’d say that if we weren’t legit suitors
JoeyFlex5
Hall of Famer
We’re trying to win a super bowl, and win it THIS YEAR. Eric wants to build for the long haul, but I promise you, there is not a single person in the castle that would take 5 years of playoffs and falling short, over 1 super bowl, and I believe Eric decosta and his cap guys are more creative and outside the box than you are. Our FO was so creative they literally made the league intervene and shut down a blockbuster trade last year, which was absolute bullshit but I digress.
if a FO wants a player, they will make it happen. The chiefs, ravens, and saints have mad scientists in the FO when it comes to cap and trades. And the ravens absolutely want Julio, they would be foolish to not seriously pursue this. It’s possible that they push very hard and just don’t win the sweepstakes in the end, but to imply that the cap implications are too severe and the ravens are gonna just poke and prod for a minute and then back out, well that just doesn’t make sense, Eric decosta has been extremely aggressive and you just keep ignoring that aspect. This is not ozzies ravens, between round 1 and the trade deadline, Eric decosta is a straight up gangster.