I’m very scared for our run d espically on short yardage. I don’t feel we can hold the edge and lbs can’t beat to many people in the hole. Like Connor or mixon vs peanut isn’t fair there
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The Offseason Thread
- Thread starter Oldfaithful
- Start date
I'd like to see the Ravens pick up Zach Brown, if they don't pick him up in FA, I could see them drafting Devin Bush.
Dom McRaven
Hall of Famer
But then again, we still have the draft so who knows what round we draft an ILB who's a run-stopper (if any round). I'm not too sold with Kenny and Peanut as the starting ILBs.
Eric Weddle and CJ Mosley were putting Peanut in the right positions to succeed. You can see it on film.
RL52TheGreatest
Ravens Ring of Honor
I'm not too worried about our run D since I'm sure we'll see Jefferson playing closer to the LOS on a lot of downs with Thomas roaming the secondary. I wouldn't mind picking up Zach Brown though if we could get him for cheap.
Charm City
Pro Bowler
At some point we need to let the young guys develop and grow into their potential. That seems to be the biggest difference between Ozzie and Eric this far. We didn't sign a veteran WR, ILB, Edge yet so we'll probably see a lot of Jordan lasly, T will, and tyus this season. A lot of us complain, me included, that we only play our young guys during their contract year and let them walk for nothing after they play well. If we want to start playing them before that happens, then we have to put up with their growing pains.
lasley obviously didnt do anything during the year (i mean the ravens liked him enough to keep him on the 53 but he didnt ever get activated) but he showed really nice chemistry with lamar during training camp and preseason - im tentatively excited about him as a sophomore because he's got a lot of talent
it's really cool if they really are both training with lamar already given that its not even april yet - they've all still got basically 2 months until they can even start OTAs and join the rookies
From Zrebiec
How are the Ravens dealing with their obvious needs? With patience, for starters
By Jeff Zrebiec Mar 25, 2019
5
PHOENIX — In this offseason of firsts for Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta, this felt like a particularly relevant one. Late Monday morning at the posh and sun-drenched Arizona Biltmore resort, DeCosta took his place with 27 other men and sat for the general manager group picture at the NFL owners meetings.
Ozzie Newsome’s longtime top lieutenant, DeCosta has been coming to this event for years without any group pictures on his itinerary. This week and this offseason have been one constant reminder of how much things have changed for DeCosta. From new experiences to new responsibilities to new pressures, DeCosta is learning on the fly, and one of the earliest lessons has been about the importance of exercising patience.
“You guys know me a little, I’m not really a patient person,” DeCosta said Monday, taking a break from league meetings to talk to a small group of reporters. “If you spoke to my wife, I think she would agree with that assessment of me. But fortunately, I’ve got great people that advise me and help me make decisions.”
The past couple of weeks have been an exercise in patience for DeCosta, who has watched several key veterans leave the organization. Two weeks into free agency and with the market having been significantly picked through, the Ravens’ roster remains very much under construction.
They still have only two receivers on their roster who have caught a pass in an NFL regular-season game. They haven’t solidified the interior of their offensive line, a stated offseason goal, and they haven’t replaced two of their top three pass rushers who departed in free agency. The draft is now a month away, and it appears the Ravens are intent on filling most, if not all, of their needs in that three-day affair.
“We want to wait and kind of assess the market, see how things play out,” DeCosta said. “I think we want to stay flexible. We want to handle each situation differently. We’ve been surprised in the past that players become available. This year is nice that we actually have cap room to actually go out and make some moves if we want to, but we’re also not going to panic. We value the draft. We know that’s a great opportunity for us, and there’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
The Ravens have approximately $15 million of salary cap space available, but they’re seemingly in no hurry to spend it or to lose the third-round compensatory selection they’re currently in line to get for the loss of Za’Darius Smith. And even if they wanted to use it, what would they spend it on?
The list of available receivers includes Chris Hogan, Pierre Garcon, Jordy Nelson and Dontrelle Inman and is underwhelming to say the least. The top available edge rushers are Nick Perry, Shane Ray, Adrian Clayborn and Aaron Lynch. That’s not a banner group, either.
The Ravens had hoped to replace edge rushers Terrell Suggs and Smith with a veteran free agent and a high draft pick, but Justin Houston’s decision to sign with the Indianapolis Colts took away the best free-agent option.
“It’s certainly a need,” DeCosta said of adding a pass rusher. “We’ve got some young players that we’re still excited about in Tyus Bowser and Timmy Williams, and obviously Matt Judon is a staple on our defense. But our depth is not quite what it was last year, and that’s an important position. We’ve always been a team that could rush the passer. That’s a big part of our defense and our identity of who we are and what we do, being able to pressure the quarterback. There’s definitely some players that are interesting in the draft, pass rushers — first round, second round, third round, all the way through.”
At wide receiver, the Ravens released Michael Crabtree and lost John Brown in free agency. Willie Snead IV is really the only proven receiver on the roster, as Chris Moore is more known for his special-teams prowess. Asked what would be his message to Ravens fans who are wondering what the team is doing at wide receiver — an annual offseason gripe in Baltimore — DeCosta went back to that word again. “I think patience,” he said.
DeCosta indicated the Ravens’ plan all along was to eschew the market for veteran wide receivers and focus on adding pass catchers for young quarterback Lamar Jackson through the draft.
“We did not look at free agency as really a great way to address the wide receiver position this year,” he said. “Last year, we thought it made a lot of sense. There were a lot of receivers in free agency last year. It didn’t make as much sense for us this year. We look at the draft as an opportunity to do that. We also still think that there may be some players that might be interesting to us at a later date, that are on the market, that might become available, that could help our football team.”
DeCosta acknowledged that the organization has “mis-evaluated” pass catchers in the draft before, but he is high on this year’s receiving class and vowed that the Ravens will draft at least one.
Otherwise, he said, it’s too early to gauge the team’s direction in next month’s draft. The Ravens pick 22nd overall and have seven other picks on the second and third days. They don’t have a second-rounder, courtesy of last year’s trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to move into position to take Jackson. However, they do have two picks in the third, fourth and sixth rounds and one in the fifth.
In years past, team officials have spoken of the importance of going into the draft without any gaping holes, which allows the organization to adhere to the “best player available” philosophy. But barring some developments over the next couple of weeks, the Ravens will have a few obvious needs come draft time.
That seems just fine with DeCosta, who is learning that patience isn’t a bad thing at this time of year.
“I want to build the best team, and I want to do it as quickly as we can, but I’m also aware that you can make mistakes if you act too quickly,” DeCosta said. “I’ve learned over time that I don’t want to act too fast. Sometimes the best decisions are the decisions you don’t make. We’ve seen that firsthand with the Ravens. I know that there will be more opportunities later on. I love that we have flexibility right now with the cap to make moves if we want to, but also we’re not required to do that right now. I’m excited about the next six weeks. I think we’ll have the chance to still make some really good moves to help the football team over the next three or four months for sure.”
Note
DeCosta all but confirmed that the Ravens will not be imminently moving on from cornerback Jimmy Smith, who has been perceived as a potential cut because he carries the highest salary cap number on the team at just under $16 million.
“I think one of the greatest strengths of our team right now is our secondary,” DeCosta said. “I think it would be foolish for us to make a strength a weakness for no reason. It’s a very fluid process. We’re in good shape right now salary cap-wise. Jimmy is a good player. We’ve got a really, really good secondary and it’s a passing league. I think that’s important.”
(Photo: Evan Habeeb / USA Today)
How are the Ravens dealing with their obvious needs? With patience, for starters
By Jeff Zrebiec Mar 25, 2019
PHOENIX — In this offseason of firsts for Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta, this felt like a particularly relevant one. Late Monday morning at the posh and sun-drenched Arizona Biltmore resort, DeCosta took his place with 27 other men and sat for the general manager group picture at the NFL owners meetings.
Ozzie Newsome’s longtime top lieutenant, DeCosta has been coming to this event for years without any group pictures on his itinerary. This week and this offseason have been one constant reminder of how much things have changed for DeCosta. From new experiences to new responsibilities to new pressures, DeCosta is learning on the fly, and one of the earliest lessons has been about the importance of exercising patience.
“You guys know me a little, I’m not really a patient person,” DeCosta said Monday, taking a break from league meetings to talk to a small group of reporters. “If you spoke to my wife, I think she would agree with that assessment of me. But fortunately, I’ve got great people that advise me and help me make decisions.”
The past couple of weeks have been an exercise in patience for DeCosta, who has watched several key veterans leave the organization. Two weeks into free agency and with the market having been significantly picked through, the Ravens’ roster remains very much under construction.
They still have only two receivers on their roster who have caught a pass in an NFL regular-season game. They haven’t solidified the interior of their offensive line, a stated offseason goal, and they haven’t replaced two of their top three pass rushers who departed in free agency. The draft is now a month away, and it appears the Ravens are intent on filling most, if not all, of their needs in that three-day affair.
“We want to wait and kind of assess the market, see how things play out,” DeCosta said. “I think we want to stay flexible. We want to handle each situation differently. We’ve been surprised in the past that players become available. This year is nice that we actually have cap room to actually go out and make some moves if we want to, but we’re also not going to panic. We value the draft. We know that’s a great opportunity for us, and there’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
The Ravens have approximately $15 million of salary cap space available, but they’re seemingly in no hurry to spend it or to lose the third-round compensatory selection they’re currently in line to get for the loss of Za’Darius Smith. And even if they wanted to use it, what would they spend it on?
The list of available receivers includes Chris Hogan, Pierre Garcon, Jordy Nelson and Dontrelle Inman and is underwhelming to say the least. The top available edge rushers are Nick Perry, Shane Ray, Adrian Clayborn and Aaron Lynch. That’s not a banner group, either.
The Ravens had hoped to replace edge rushers Terrell Suggs and Smith with a veteran free agent and a high draft pick, but Justin Houston’s decision to sign with the Indianapolis Colts took away the best free-agent option.
“It’s certainly a need,” DeCosta said of adding a pass rusher. “We’ve got some young players that we’re still excited about in Tyus Bowser and Timmy Williams, and obviously Matt Judon is a staple on our defense. But our depth is not quite what it was last year, and that’s an important position. We’ve always been a team that could rush the passer. That’s a big part of our defense and our identity of who we are and what we do, being able to pressure the quarterback. There’s definitely some players that are interesting in the draft, pass rushers — first round, second round, third round, all the way through.”
At wide receiver, the Ravens released Michael Crabtree and lost John Brown in free agency. Willie Snead IV is really the only proven receiver on the roster, as Chris Moore is more known for his special-teams prowess. Asked what would be his message to Ravens fans who are wondering what the team is doing at wide receiver — an annual offseason gripe in Baltimore — DeCosta went back to that word again. “I think patience,” he said.
DeCosta indicated the Ravens’ plan all along was to eschew the market for veteran wide receivers and focus on adding pass catchers for young quarterback Lamar Jackson through the draft.
“We did not look at free agency as really a great way to address the wide receiver position this year,” he said. “Last year, we thought it made a lot of sense. There were a lot of receivers in free agency last year. It didn’t make as much sense for us this year. We look at the draft as an opportunity to do that. We also still think that there may be some players that might be interesting to us at a later date, that are on the market, that might become available, that could help our football team.”
DeCosta acknowledged that the organization has “mis-evaluated” pass catchers in the draft before, but he is high on this year’s receiving class and vowed that the Ravens will draft at least one.
Otherwise, he said, it’s too early to gauge the team’s direction in next month’s draft. The Ravens pick 22nd overall and have seven other picks on the second and third days. They don’t have a second-rounder, courtesy of last year’s trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to move into position to take Jackson. However, they do have two picks in the third, fourth and sixth rounds and one in the fifth.
In years past, team officials have spoken of the importance of going into the draft without any gaping holes, which allows the organization to adhere to the “best player available” philosophy. But barring some developments over the next couple of weeks, the Ravens will have a few obvious needs come draft time.
That seems just fine with DeCosta, who is learning that patience isn’t a bad thing at this time of year.
“I want to build the best team, and I want to do it as quickly as we can, but I’m also aware that you can make mistakes if you act too quickly,” DeCosta said. “I’ve learned over time that I don’t want to act too fast. Sometimes the best decisions are the decisions you don’t make. We’ve seen that firsthand with the Ravens. I know that there will be more opportunities later on. I love that we have flexibility right now with the cap to make moves if we want to, but also we’re not required to do that right now. I’m excited about the next six weeks. I think we’ll have the chance to still make some really good moves to help the football team over the next three or four months for sure.”
Note
DeCosta all but confirmed that the Ravens will not be imminently moving on from cornerback Jimmy Smith, who has been perceived as a potential cut because he carries the highest salary cap number on the team at just under $16 million.
“I think one of the greatest strengths of our team right now is our secondary,” DeCosta said. “I think it would be foolish for us to make a strength a weakness for no reason. It’s a very fluid process. We’re in good shape right now salary cap-wise. Jimmy is a good player. We’ve got a really, really good secondary and it’s a passing league. I think that’s important.”
(Photo: Evan Habeeb / USA Today)
Zrebiec:
Jean-Baptiste’s agent announces he’s Re-signing in Baltimore. He wasn’t tendered contract as an RFA.
I'm assuming this was for vet min or something similar to save us about 1m on the cap
Jean-Baptiste’s agent announces he’s Re-signing in Baltimore. He wasn’t tendered contract as an RFA.
I'm assuming this was for vet min or something similar to save us about 1m on the cap
Yeah I would assume close to the minimum. To be clear though, we aren't saving anything on the cap with him - he was a FA after not tendering him. It likely won't cost much, but it will be a slight hit to our cap - maybe $100-200K or so.
We have 948 CBs now but I'm still happy to see this one. He played very well last preseason and was likely going to make the team before injury.
i meant savings on the cap vs tendering him as RFA
Harbs just said we're going to try to do joint training with both the Jags (before preseason 1) and with the eagles (before preseason 3) - jags will be in baltimore, ravens will be in philadelphia
i really like these joint training camps
i really like these joint training camps
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Gotcha. Yeah, definitely cheaper in that regard.
harbs expects kaare vedvik to kick well enough this offseason that we'll be able to trade him - has already been back training all through last season - says we probably could have traded him last year before the incident
Zrebiec: Harbaugh said that he met with Chris Moore because Moore wanted to know where he stood. Harbaugh’s message was “let’s roll.” Said this is Moore’s time.
A number of coaches have told Harbs that they were gonna go hard after nick boyle in free agency if he got there and looking at the money some of those lesser guys got in free agency id say we probably got him at a bargain despite how annoyingly big the money looks even so
cdp
Ravens Ring of Honor
The worst part of Harbaugh's interview: He expects Matt Skura to take a step forward. They want to bring in competition on the interior offensive line.
No, please EDC just cut Skura and move on. I don't want to let a promising rookie sit on the bench for another season.
They're also planning to draft a shifty home run-hitting back
No, please EDC just cut Skura and move on. I don't want to let a promising rookie sit on the bench for another season.
They're also planning to draft a shifty home run-hitting back
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tbf he said the matt skura to take a step forward in the same way they do about every player
it was in response to a question about competition and whether they expect skura to start (and whether they'll add competition to the interior)
what he said was that there will be a competition for all those spots but that he expects skura to step up...
that's quite a different tone