Signings, Cuts, Trades

[QtR Nevermore]

I will Gallup one tiny benefit of the doubt: it is not uncommon for players to be off that first year back from a knee injury and then be better the second year back. I don’t think this is the case but it is not impossible and he is still in his prime years.

He just completed his second year back and it wasn't impressive. He was supposed to be Dallas' WR2 and he hasn't gone over 500 yards since 2020 with a pretty good QB.

 

[RavensMania]

It'd be double worth pissing off their fans, though.

especially if he scored a TD on 4th and 12 and broke a tackle on Geno Stone

 

[Thezone27]

Hey Raven fans you guys think we can get back to the playoffs next year?

yes, but I don't think a bowl is realistic

 

[Ice Bowl]

yes, but I don't think a bowl is realistic

I don’t think getting to a Superbowl will happen either. We always lose to SF.

 

[Davesta]

I don’t think getting to a Superbowl will happen either. We always lose to SF.

We’ll always lose to Harbs daddy Reid.

 

[Sandtown]

Of your list of suggestions, Tyler Boyd is by far the best, but he'll be the most expensive.

I'd much rather we picked a WR from a strong draft, to give us more stability going forward and to make the position less urgent in next year's draft. Gallup's presence would give us 5 WRs and probably drop the position down the list of draft priorities - especially this season where we probably have more needs than picks.

Gallup can't separate anymore. That's a bad fit for Lamar, who has always liked targeting separators much more than ball winners.

Bad WRs aren't just a neutral thing. They waste downs and series by not getting open and giving the QB somewhere to go.

I don't know if it's that Gallup can't separate anymore or if it's just that he lost a step but can still contribute. He's a good route runner though . I like Tyler Boyd but he didn't really play all that well last year and is mainly at his best in the slot. Don't know what he brings to the table that Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely can already do. I'm all for the team drafting a receiver which I think they will rather they sign a veteran receiver or not but i wouldn't be mad at all if they signed Gallup. At best he atleast gives the team more depth and adds to the wide receiver competition in training camp.and for all we know he might actually be better in the ravens offense than the cowboys. It wouldn't be the first time the team signed a cowboy player(Brandon Carr) that was deemed washed up that end up being a solid player for the ravens.

 

[All_black_everything]

After sitting with the thought of bringing Gallup in… if it’s a cheap contact I wouldn’t be opposed. He would be 3rd-4th on the depth chart at best and we could do far worse than Gallup and Agholor in those roles.

 

[rossihunter2]

Of your list of suggestions, Tyler Boyd is by far the best, but he'll be the most expensive.

I'd much rather we picked a WR from a strong draft, to give us more stability going forward and to make the position less urgent in next year's draft. Gallup's presence would give us 5 WRs and probably drop the position down the list of draft priorities - especially this season where we probably have more needs than picks.

Gallup can't separate anymore. That's a bad fit for Lamar, who has always liked targeting separators much more than ball winners.

Bad WRs aren't just a neutral thing. They waste downs and series by not getting open and giving the QB somewhere to go.

Pending price it’ll be like the year we brought Michael Floyd into camp to see if there was anything there

 

[airconteka]

And even if we do sign him, it will have zero impact on our drafting decisions

 

[rmcjacket23]

I saw Gallup was available and feared this might happen. After all, he was just about the most underwhelming receiver available, so that sounds like a Raven.

We know his name. His body's broken. He's years past his best. Welcome to Baltimore. Welcome to 184 yards and 1 TD (wide open on a red zone scramble drill).

Signing Gallup changes nothing about whatever our draft strategy is for WRs, i.e. it wouldn't stop us from taking one in the first round if the opportunity presented itself, nor would it stop us from taking somebody on day 2 or day 3.

Gallup would basically be what Agholor was last year. And I'd bet at a similar price point.

 

[QtR Nevermore]

Pending price it’ll be like the year we brought Michael Floyd into camp to see if there was anything there

I hope so. I wouldn't mind if he was a Laquon Treadwell Practice Squad type but I fear that the way he's touring around teams at this stage in the year indicates that he'd be more of a real signing who'd get a contract over the minimum and remain on the 53 all year.

 

[QtR Nevermore]

Signing Gallup changes nothing about whatever our draft strategy is for WRs, i.e. it wouldn't stop us from taking one in the first round if the opportunity presented itself, nor would it stop us from taking somebody on day 2 or day 3.

Gallup would basically be what Agholor was last year. And I'd bet at a similar price point.

The Agholor contract would be too high for me. For that money we could add a Safety who could take over Geno's role and be a starter.

I hope you're right about the draft but with real needs on the O Line and in the Secondary I worry with, that a veteran signed at that contract level, EDC would be glad to take one glaring need off his board* until Day 3.

*Unless the value is exceptional, obviously.

 

[airconteka]

The Agholor contract would be too high for me. For that money we could add a Safety who could take over Geno's role and be a starter.

I hope you're right about the draft but with real needs on the O Line and in the Secondary I worry with, that a veteran signed at that contract level, EDC would be glad to take one glaring need off his board* until Day 3.

*Unless the value is exceptional, obviously.

So if we do sign Gallup and EDC works in that manner than he will focus on the positions you're concerned about. So you've talked yourself into signing Gallup champ.

 

[QtR Nevermore]

So if we do sign Gallup and EDC works in that manner than he will focus on the positions you're concerned about. So you've talked yourself into signing Gallup champ.

?

Not quite. I'm saying I want WR to remain a position of priority for the draft - along with OL and DB. We'll only have Zay under contract in '25 as things stand.

 

[airconteka]

?

Not quite. I'm saying I want WR to remain a position of priority for the draft - along with OL and DB. We'll only have Zay under contract in '25 as things stand.

Do you honestly believe a Gallup signing would have any impact on our drafting?

 

[rmcjacket23]

The Agholor contract would be too high for me. For that money we could add a Safety who could take over Geno's role and be a starter.

I hope you're right about the draft but with real needs on the O Line and in the Secondary I worry with, that a veteran signed at that contract level, EDC would be glad to take one glaring need off his board* until Day 3.

*Unless the value is exceptional, obviously.

So a) no, I don't think you're getting a starting Safety for $3M, nor do I see the need to add a starting Safety. I see the need to add depth at Safety, and that's assuming that Washington isn't their plan there.
And b) $3M is pretty close to double the veteran minimum, so it'll be pretty hard to sign any player in any position for much less than that. A backup Guard is going to cost you ~$1.5-2M or so.

I don't see the "needs" in the secondary you do. I see three pretty good Corners on this roster, and I see two very good Safeties. You're not going to find many teams in the league that have that right now or in August. We need depth in the secondary for '24, not massive upgrades.
I also see 2-3 draft picks or UDFAs that they like and will probably expect to take a step forward this year, much in the same way we have those expectations for Simpson, some of the interior Olineman on the roster, Ojabo, etc. Those guys will need to play more and play better. In many of those cases, there aren't "contingency plans" available or coming.

 

[QtR Nevermore]

Do you honestly believe a Gallup signing would have any impact on our drafting?

I hope not, but we have a lot of roster holes to fill.

I also just don't like the player and the roster fit. Other than Zay, we have two 4th year WRs playing for their future and Agholor as the vet. To me, that room is crying out for a Day 2 (preferably) rookie.

 

[rmcjacket23]

I hope not, but we have a lot of roster holes to fill.

I also just don't like the player and the roster fit. Other than Zay, we have two 4th year WRs playing for their future and Agholor as the vet. To me, that room is crying out for a Day 2 (preferably) rookie.

Or both. You're going to carry 5-6 WRs on the roster. Zay, Bateman, Agholor, Wallace. You need at least 1-2 more. And Wallace will likely act as almost exclusively a kick returner and ST player.
And that's assuming they're all healthy enough to play.

A lot of our roster holes are going to be filled with players who are already on the roster. As per every year.

 

[QtR Nevermore]

So a) no, I don't think you're getting a starting Safety for $3M, nor do I see the need to add a starting Safety. I see the need to add depth at Safety, and that's assuming that Washington isn't their plan there.
And b) $3M is pretty close to double the veteran minimum, so it'll be pretty hard to sign any player in any position for much less than that. A backup Guard is going to cost you ~$1.5-2M or so.

I don't see the "needs" in the secondary you do. I see three pretty good Corners on this roster, and I see two very good Safeties. You're not going to find many teams in the league that have that right now or in August. We need depth in the secondary for '24, not massive upgrades.

We still have a strong secondary with great starters but it's a thin group.

I wouldn't really count Hamilton as a Safety fully. He's Hamilton, the movable piece that makes our defense work, but that means you need quasi-starters to fill in the positions he isn't in.

Washington played as a slot corner primarily. He'd be a very small safety. Between him, Maulet and possibly Pepe slot corner is well covered.

Stone was more or less a starter when Hamilton played the slot. We don't yet have anyone on the roster to play that role. There are loads of Safeties still on the market. FAs are going to be relatively cheap. I think $3M will get you quite a useful player at that position this year. A draft pick used there would be great too.

I'd say we need a CB3 (and probably 4) on the outside - which is a depth need but it's depth that will see the field in an important role and so needs to be considered in the early rounds.

 

[rmcjacket23]

We still have a strong secondary with great starters but it's a thin group.

I wouldn't really count Hamilton as a Safety fully. He's Hamilton, the movable piece that makes our defense work, but that means you need quasi-starters to fill in the positions he isn't in.

Washington played as a slot corner primarily. He'd be a very small safety. Between him, Maulet and possibly Pepe slot corner is well covered.

Stone was more or less a starter when Hamilton played the slot. We don't yet have anyone on the roster to play that role. There are loads of Safeties still on the market. FAs are going to be relatively cheap. I think $3M will get you quite a useful player at that position this year. A draft pick used there would be great too.

I'd say we need a CB3 (and probably 4) on the outside - which is a depth need but it's depth that will see the field in an important role and so needs to be considered in the early rounds.

Hamilton is a movable piece, but that doesn't mean you need two safety looks on every down either. In a 4 WR set, your safeties are playing coverage a lot. Especially if we continue to play more Zone.

Your 3rd or 4th outside corner is likely already on the roster, and if we add one, I wouldn't expect it necessarily to be until the 3rd or 4th round. If we end up taking a Corner in the first, so be it, but its not a "need". We took JAD and Pepe in the 4th round two years ago. It's time they step up.