Ravensfan23

3 hours ago, PurpleCity5 said:

To be honest with you, I think losing Brandon Williams could be a big blow to this defense. I don't know anyone behind him who can step up and the guys next to him, Timmy Jernigan and Lawrence Guy looked bad in their final weeks. They were gassed and I'm questioning right now if Timmy Jernigan is a guy who can be effective for a whole season. If we lose Brandon Williams and the guys who played next to them carry on their play from the last few weeks onto next season then I think the Ravens defense might have a new problem and it won't be with the secondary. 

In Wagner's case they might need him almost as bad as BW, the team is going to be cutting ties with Zuttah, if you lose Wagner then that's two spots on the OL you need to fill. The OL needs as much time to gel and as much continuity as possible in order to be up there with some of the leagues best, losing him would be bad, losing both guys would be a big blow to this team and I honestly think it could be so bad that it could set us back from contention. 

I very much think so emotions are involved, if you're a player like BW, this is the peak of your FA. You want to feel wanted, this is the case for a lot of guys. The Ravens started this by calling him the best NT in the league or something like that. I've seen so many times in a headline where a player felt like he got low-balled on a deal or felt unwanted because a team didn't try hard enough to keep him. That's pretty much the case if the Ravens go hard after a Tony Jefferson for $7M knowing they have BW and Wagner in FA. Pay up for a guy like that and both of them might feel like they're no longer needed by the team and will look elsewhere. 

I can definitely understand your point and agree that every player wants to feel wanted. I just feel that if a player wants to break the bank or be the highest paid, that's his focus. It's only so much you can show a player you want him and still build a successful team. Both Williams and Wagner are certainly important but if either push 10m for example, the Ravens can't continue to pull resources to accommodate them. That's just bad business. The Ravens have a certain amount allocated to signing those players and still fielding a competitive team.

Now on the flip side those guys gotta do what's best for their families. If the Ravens don't fit into what's best for their families than they have to walk. 

If money is the only way to show love then teams like the Ravens, Steelers and Pats will loss a ton of good players which they do.

2 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

i doubt we use it to trade up. i actually could see us trade back and end up with 3 thirds or 2 seconds. 

I think there will be a nice amount of pass rushers, DBs and RBs between the bottom of the 1st and mid 2nd. I could certainly see the Ravens trade back in the first round to pick up an extra pick or 2. 

But I could also see the Ravens use that 99th pick and maybe a 7th to move up and double dip at DB or lock down a good interior OL.

20 minutes ago, usmccharles said:

Thats honestly that much, dont we usually have around 15-20 to work with?

yea I think that's about right. Of course things like RFA and ERFA have to be factored in as well of draft picks signing. I think the Ravens are around 14M or so right now.

2 hours ago, usmccharles said:

 

How much cap space do you guys think we will have with all the cuts that are going to be made

If i remember correctly it should free up around 20 Million if the Ravens do the type of cap purge that many think they will.  

2 hours ago, PurpleCity5 said:

A NT or RT isn't winning you a title but I think both guys know that they're important pieces of the team. I think we all do as well and there's lots of talk about what losing an RT would do to this OL and how bad it would be for us. Losing a NT like Williams when other guys on the line played awful in the final weeks is a fairly big deal, I think Damon Harrison has had a tremendous impact on the Giants and I feel that Williams could match that, so while neither guys are winning us a title, they're certainly going to help us build towards that route. 

KO wanted to get paid, but he also wanted to be felt like he was needed, now there's conflicting reports out there but I can recall Ian Rappaport saying that the Ravens really wanted to keep KO and were willing to make him the 2nd highest paid player on offense. I don't know if this is true but I really think we would have liked to keep KO and felt that if we have a bit more cap space to function under and made an aggressive move on him and lets say fall a million short, than I think he could've stayed. Of course that makes this discussion meaningless because we didn't have the space for it, but I definitely think keeping your interest on guys keeps them listening  to you. 

 

This was my point in saying they. They are just pieces, so they must know that the team can't just sit back and wait on them to make a decision to sign or not. For example, the Ravens have already made a offer to Wagner and he didn't like it enough. Ok, great let the negotiation began, but I feel it would be foolish for Wagner and his camp to hold it against the Ravens for trying to fill other areas of need on this team while in negotiation with him are on going. So while both guys know they are important I think it would be foolish for them to hold the team hostage like that because now you basically hurt the overall team to get your deal. If either guy had their feeling hurt because the Ravens are showing love or more love to another player that's not at the same position than both Williams and Juice should be mad at the Ravens for offering Wagner a deal already and no-one else. I just don't think those type of emotions are involved with these negotiations.  

I heard the same thing about KO. The deal was slightly bigger than what Yanda was being paid which would have placed KO among the top 3 highest paid Guards iirc. The highest paid players on offense was Flacco, followed by Yanda, so if the Ravens were willing to make him the second highest paid player on offense, that says they really feel like they need you. That says we want you in my book. But he wanted to be paid like you said. I think everyone knew the Ravens were up against the cap last year and made certain moved to go hard after KO which they did. So if he felt unwanted because the Ravens didn't completely blow up their cap to accommodate a  LT like deal for him than he probably didn't really want to be here anyway, he just wanted Baltimore to be the team that paid the most which is a big difference. Remember KO got 4Mil per year more and 9Mil more in guarantees than Yanda. That's a huge gap and once the Ravens heard them numbers Im sure their the ones who lost interest. 

The Ravens now have 4 picks in the top 100 and compensatory picks are allowed to be traded this year.  http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Ravens-Awarded-A-Third-Round-Compensatory-Pick/cb79b9ab-a6f6-4388-ac3c-3c6e1b9aa90f

Now that compensatory picks are allowed to be traded I wonder if it changes anything with the Ravens process of letting certain guys walk?

56 minutes ago, usmccharles said:

I basically agree with everything you said expect what I bolded.  Yanda will be 33 this year and KO will be 28, so basically if we were to resign  KO, he would of taken over Yanda's veteran presence on the line and basically be exactly what Yanda is to us now.  Yanda has 3 years left on his contract, don't know how much longer he actually plays obviously.  So we could have transitioned from having the best  two G's in the league then back to having one with KO when Yanda retires. 

That being said, I was fine with letting KO walk as I wanted Weddle more and we simply just couldn't compete price wise with a team that had 60m to spend, they clearly over-paid but when you  have the much cap space it doesn't really matter. 

Marshal Yanda even at 31 when he signed his latest deal was widely considered the best guard in the NFL and he wasn't even paid as such. Now I was and continue to be a huge KO fan, I wish we would have kept him. However when I heard the Ravens made him an aggressive offer, i instantly thought he got a offer in that 3-7 highest paid range and was cool with it because that would have put him around or slightly higher than Yanda, who again is the standard. However when that was turned down I knew he was going for big bucks and I didn't blame him, but I also didn't blame the Ravens one bit for allowing him to walk because that contract he got just wasn't gonna work for this team. That's what I meant by he wasn't worth more than Yanda to this team. 

I'm sure the Ravens felt if they didn't have to pay Yanda a max deal, they weren't gonna do it with KO. Also I think there was some concern about him playing LT moving forward as well. KO was basically paid as a top 10 LT without playing more than 5 games there. I just don't think KO was getting more than top 5 Guard money here and that's what probably ticked him off. 

13 minutes ago, PurpleCity5 said:

I get what you mean, I just wanted to state my personal opinion on the Ravens adding another safety since it's so popular. 

I think Wagner and Williams caring about the Ravens interest does matter. They might not be too happy if the team isn't fully focuesed on retaining them and we've seen stuff like that happen all across the league. K.O himselfed felt low-balled and disrespected by the Ravens not being as competitive as he hoped for and while they couldn't afford it, the fact that happened sort of effected his decision. When he saw the Raiders continued interest in him, it definitely got him on board. 

I think the Ravens might add a lesser name S if he comes at a good price. A mid 20s guys who's entering his prime and can push Webb. 

Its possible they could be upset about the Ravens pursuing other FAs aggressively, but at the end of the day a NT or RT isn't winning you a championship. The team still has to build and add other pieces. If they can't understand that or they feel some type of way about it than you just have to be willing to watch them walk imo. 

KO wanted to be paid higher than the Ravens were willing to pay. There's no way he was worth more than Yanda to this team and the Ravens weren't willing to over pay him. The Ravens were willing to make him a top 5 paid OG and he wanted to break the bank. KO getting nearly 10M more than the highest paid Guards landed him in Oak, not his feeling towards the Ravens. Now if the Ravens offer was like 1-2Mil off, than I would have paid more attention to the comments he made about the Ravens on his way out. But he just saw a chance to cash out and the Ravens wanted no parts of it. If the same thing holds true for Wagner or Williams they should walk too. 

1 hour ago, rmw10 said:

Of the potential cut candidates, here are my thoughts:

1. Kyle Arrington - This one is obvious.  He might retire due to injury anyways.
2. Elvis Dumervil - I'm of the opinion that we should just move on.  I think we should be making a full effort to get younger and I'd rather see the young guys out there learning.  I think Dumervil still has a little left in the tank but it's not worth delaying development.
3. Kendrick Lewis - Lewis hardly played last year, and lost out on snaps to pretty much every other S.  He could stay solely because of the complete lack of depth, but I still consider that a very, very small possibility.
4. Dennis Pitta - It has to happen.  We've invested quite a bit into our younger players.  Let's live and die by them.
5. Mike Wallace - The one veteran I'm absolutely sure we should keep.  We need something out there and his cap hit is not bad at all for what he can do for us.
6. Ben Watson - Ditto what I said about Pitta.
7. Lardarius Webb - I'd hold onto him for now and see if we can get younger at some point over the offseason.
8. Shareece Wright - The owner called him out by name.  That's never good.
9. Jeremy Zuttah - The FO repeatedly said they want to get bigger and stronger and it looks like that was about Zuttah.  I still think he's solid and I wouldn't mind holding onto him, but I'd guess he's gone.

I agree 100% but I highlighted #5 because I've recently realized exactly what you just said. Wallace's cap hit is not that bad and won't necessarily have to be touched if other cuts are made. I've said that I feel Perriman could have the same type of production as Wallace did last year and that's just the floor for him. However as confident as I am in that statement, Perriman still has to prove it and until he does, Wallace is a heck of a #2. I still don't think he's a strong enough route runner to be a consistent weapon but that's why the Ravens want to add a another vet.  

1 hour ago, PurpleCity5 said:

Doom is gone unless a pay cut is there. This team needs to just force themselves to get younger and better off the edge. At 33 and coming off a Achilles tear(and he looked awful when returning onto the field) there's just not a lot of confidence you can have in him. I'm iffy on him accepting the vet because he might make a lot more on the open market and wouldn't have a reason staying on a team for less money that he might not feel would contend for a SB. Personally, I think he's out. 

He had 3 sacks and 2FF in only 25% of the defensive snaps and you could clearly see he wasn't 100% at any point last year. So getting him healthy could be big, i wouldn't just write him off just yet. 

I agree with the getting younger and faster thing, but Mr B said it best. I think he said something to the tune of production is ageless. I say that because right now i'd gladly take a 33 year old Doom coming off injury over a 24 year old Zadarius Smith. 

I don't think he'll get the league minimum but I also don't think people will be beating down his door. If he was cut I think he'd be one of those vets who set on the market until after training camp. I actually don't think getting something done with Doom will be hard. I think the question is do the Ravens still want him.

1 hour ago, PurpleCity5 said:

If he takes a pay cut then I think that might rule out Tony Jefferson. Webb was pretty good in coverage but what I also thought he excelled at was tackling, he was able to bring down TEs effectively and having two good tackling safeties is very valuable. Webb should be relied upon if he takes a pay cut unless he's really bad in TC. '

I like Tony Jefferson but Arizona is very high on keeping him, I wouldn't want to see the Ravens get into a bidding war over another teams FA with Wagner and Williams on the block. I could see them easily getting upset with the Ravens if they get into a bidding war with Jefferson but not become competitive with their offers. 

For the record I wasn't saying Tony Jefferson should be added, was just pointing to that scenario.

I agree that Webb should be retained at a lower cap number and the safety position should be addressed in the draft.  I like Jefferson but I think the Ravens are in a good place with Weddle and maybe even Webb to develop a young safety. 

As for Wagner and Williams getting upset about a bidding war for another player. The Ravens wouldn't care. They can't allow either player to hold them hostage from building this team in other areas. The Ravens are going to allocate a certain amount of money to retain those players and I don't think they will go over that amount, regardless of what happens with other players. 

12 minutes ago, usmccharles said:

I'm a big fan of Gilmore.   He has stay healthy though,  which might be an issue as it seems. He has great yac skills and breaks tackles very well.   I hope he takes that next step

I love his confidence. I love him saying, I never want to leave the field and the other TEs better get ready to enjoy the bench. He plays with that same type of confidence, but as you said he needs to get and stay healthy.

2 hours ago, rmw10 said:

Agreed.  I'd much rather take a year of hiccups from some young guys than watch these veterans go out there and not make the team better.  I'd be 100% alright with another year of no playoffs if it means we've purged some of the bad contracts and let the young guys learn on the field.  I think that's a better move for us as a franchise at this point.  I don't really see us being a team that would fit the "going for it all" criteria in 2017.  Might as well clear out some of that cap now.

Of the typically named cut candidates, the only ones I'd keep are Wallace, Suggs, and maybe Webb unless they find a suitable replacement.

 I might be willing to add Doom to that list based on how low you can lower his cap and how that position is addressed. The Ravens seem to have a ton of faith in the young pass rushers but I don't share that faith. I'd love to see how Matt Judon progresses from year 1 to 2 and imo KC has to be used in more of a blitzing roll then just a regular rusher. So unless a guy like Derek Barnett (insert your favorite prospect) is drafted early or you can upgrade in FA with a younger option, I'd like Doom to return as a pass rush specialist. I think if healthy he definitely has something left in the tank and a vet minimum type deal would be great value. 

4 hours ago, rmw10 said:

I agree.  We shouldn't be afraid to make some big changes in the coming days.  The veteran contracts have killed us for far too long and this is a great opportunity to rid the team of them and put us in a better position going forward.

couldn't agree more. The veteran contracts have really hurt. I'd rather see a bunch of young talented players flying around and possibly making mistakes than to see older vets who have clearly lost a step taking reps and not really improving the team much. I said the same thing about Forsett last year and many disagreed with me, but Pitta will hold this team back far more then he'd help this team in 2017 imo. Even on a reduced salary I don't think he's a good option in 2017. 

My only question is can you at least get a late round draft pick for him, but with that salary I highly doubt it. 

10 hours ago, PurpleCity5 said:

He would have to take a pay-cut but why would he be a back-up? He was pretty good overall and had a top-5 coverage grade in the final 6 weeks of the season. I think Webb was one of the guys who contributed largely to the secondary in the 1st half of the season. IMO Webb has been catching too much flack this season. 

He'll certainly be asked to take a pay cut, but unless someone like Tony Jefferson is added, Webb will be given the opportunity to compete for the starting role. So I wouldn't say Webb will automatically be a backup. 

7 minutes ago, crazyboutravens said:

Every year we give away guys we have invested in and we need to change that scenario. It gets ridiculous after a while. I would not mind if it happened once in
a while but every year just not very satisfactory. It makes us be twice as good at
drafting than other teams.

the Ravens don't lose players at any higher rate than any other good team in the NFL. We just notice it more because we are fans of the team. They just won't overpay for players and sometimes you lose quality guys because of it. If Wagner gets LT money, why would you want to retain him? I'd rather allow him to walk, move Lewis to RT and target Zeitler  to play LG for a couple Million more than you were willing to pay Wagner. i like Wagner but he's a RT  only and isn't even the best RT in the NFL. You don't overpay for that unless you're desperate. 

1 hour ago, fusuymada said:

Let me add my opinion on cuts as well. I would hold onto everyone we have except for Webb, Arrington and Lewis. Dumervil, Pitta and Wallace need to stay.

Pitta needs to go. I like the guy personally and I think he still has something to offer, but the Ravens don't need anymore mediocre talent than they already have. I'm not and I hope the Ravens aren't fooled by Pitta's high catch volume. His 8ypc total should mean more. Even when asked to press the defense down the seam he wasn't able to do it consistently. Even though unproven, I'd take my chances with the 4 young TEs and allow them to work in a play action heavy offense. 

I agree with Doom and Wallace. If you can't hands down find anyone better they should return. If healthy Doom is still a plus pass rusher, he'll just be a specialist more than a every down player. That's probably best anyway. Reduce his cap and let him hunt. Wallace can still make plays and this team desperately needs that. I'm a huge advocate of adding Britt because I think he's a playmaker that will be had for around 6.5-7.5 Mil over 3 years and you can still keep Wallace by extending him for a year or two. Convert his cap to bonus money and spread the rest of his cap over the next 2 years. If Perriman steps up the way the Ravens hope, Wallace can be cut the following year. 

Those older players haven't done much of anything to help this team win when needed, so why hold on to them? I'd rather see a bunch of young and hungry young players flying around trying to make plays, instead of holding onto older players because they are good guys or team favorites. So I'm cutting Watson, Pitta, Arrington, Lewis, Wright and Powers. Then I'm going to Doom and Webb to reduce their cap hits. If these moves are made, Wallace can actually be kept at his current 8Mil hit. 

12 hours ago, RavensDieHard21 said:

Barnett is literally so good that I would easily give up a third to leapfrog the colts because they will likely take him if he makes it there. But if he makes it to 16, no doubt he is our pick. If we passed on him I literally wouldn't watch the rest of the draft unless we took Jamal Adams, Malik Hooker, Sidney Jones or Mike Williams by some miracle instead. 

Barnett is my guy. In my initial mock draft I had the Ravens taking Cook at 16 because the Ravens are actively looking to add playmakers to this offense to keep pace with the Steelers and others. They also seem confident that these young pass rushers will step up as well, so I still think we might see a offensive splash at 16 with either, Cook, Williams or Davis depending on who's there. 

However if Barnett is there it'd be so hard for me to pass on him personally. This guy is a reckoning ball and learning from Suggs for a year would do wonders for him. I think getting into a NFL conditioning program will only add to his burst and he'll be a dominate pass rusher imo. He also sets the edge well enough, but again watching Suggs work for a year should help his game overall. I like him in that Suggs role long term but should be able to fill in opposite Suggs from day 1. 

I don't think he'll test well at the combine and there will be some highly athletic rusher who will blow up the combine, so that might actually push Barnett to the 2nd round which is insane imo. However if the Ravens feel his value is towards the bottom of the 1st, early 2nd. I wouldn't mind grabbing a CB or offensive weapon than trading up for him in the 2nd. But I don't think he gets out of the teens personally. 

43 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Joe's first deal was a mistake by the FO in terms of STRUCTURE, not in terms of total compensation. This I agree with. I think the FO didn't know how to handle a contract that size, and the way they spread out the cap impact and backloaded in tremendously definitely didn't help the franchise in the long run.

However, the new restructured contract is what I think you see is the new norm for NFL teams. In the past teams would try to backload these deals, but teams are figuring out that flatter cap structures for the larger contracts are the better long term approach, even if it means sacrificing winning in the short term.

I don't think it does sacrifice winning in the short terms. As I just wrote in the post above, it's the performance of the players the Ravens choose to lock up long term moreso than the way Flacco's contract was structured. If Pitta, Monroe, Jimmy, Webb and Flacco all performed up to their contracts where would this team be right now? If drafted guys like, Perriman, Maxx, ZDS, Timmy, Elam, Brooks, Camp and some others were guys you could look at and say, I know they'll show up on a consistent level, where would this team be?

I think the answer is the team would be winning and even if Joe's numbers weren't among the best in the NFL, the Ravens could still justify the contract because the team would still be winning. But yeah I definitely agree with you.

1 hour ago, steelcityraven said:

The flacco contract definitely is hurting us. In fact I would say that probably no other contract in the NFL is handcuffing their team worse.

But I still would not call that Ozzies biggest mistake. IDK... Boller comes to mind. Allowing Harbs to bring Dean Pees in comes to mind... The Webb contract is up there. The Pitta contract is also up there. All the guaranteed money on the Ray Rice deal hurt us badly over the past two years. Sergio Kindle hurt us...

But Flacco has produced (albeit not up to his contract) but he has produced. So... as much as his contract holds the team hostage... I cant call it Ozzie's worst move... but its top 10 for sure!

Flacco's contract isn't hurting the Ravens as much as people think. Over the first 3 years of the original contract, Flacco's cap hit was really team friendly. Since signing Flacco to the original contract, the team signed, Pitta, Jimmy, Monroe, Yanda, Tucker, Koch and Weddle to big deals. That doesn't include locking up guys like Zuttah, Wright, SSS, Forsett and Watson to deals that weren't big but the team thought these players would contribute a lot. They also made competitive offers to Torrey and KO.

Flacco's contract hasn't hurt the team, that's just the perception going around. What has hurt the Ravens is these long term commitments and young draft picks not playing well over the last 3-4 years. The Ravens have been among the top of the league in dead money over the last 3-4 years because of poor contracts. Injuries have hurt as well. 

Flacco certainly has to play better and play up to his contract, but he hasn't stopped the team from signing anyone. Boldin was traded because the Ravens didn't think he could perform as well moving forward. Torrey wasn't a guy the Ravens would pay 10Mil for, especially since they have so much success getting close to over the hill WRs who can perform just as well as Torrey and no way they were paying KO LT money without being 100% sure he was the answer there which no one could honestly say. 

Seeing Flacco struggle on a huge contract sucks, but the reality is, the Ravens don't commit big money to outside players often and the guys they wanted to keep here they have. Flacco has to play better, but the Ravens were banking on guys like Perriman, Maxx, Brooks, Elam, Davis, Smith, Timmy, Taliafero, Buck and others to really step their games up and be the new era of players to keep the team performing well and that just hasn't happened. 

1 hour ago, berad said:

This is true. He had all of the leverage after winning the SB with that end-of-year run. One of the times wear the gamble worked for the player and the team paid up. Whether you love or hate him, he's going to be on the team for the next few years at least - just the way his deal is set up.

I think what people miss about the whole Flacco contract is that It was the Ravens decision to structure it the way it is. This time last year Flacco went back to the table with the Ravens and said his reason was to create cap space for the team to continue to keep/add players. The Ravens choose not to structure the contract to create much cap space over the first 3 years and instead keep the cap hits level over the duration of the contract. 

Flacco banked on himself in 2013 and won. Now the Ravens are banking on the fact that Flacco will not necessarily get back to being a top 10 QB but get this team back to being in contention for a championship consistently over the next 5 years. Matt Ryan is about to break the bank and set the market again(rightfully so) and then you have younger players in their mid-late 20s that will set the market as well. Wilson, Carr, Winston, Mariota, Wentz, Dak and maybe even guys like Tyrod and Jimmy G will be getting paid over the next 3 years while Flacco is still under contract and their cap hit will almost surely surpass Flacco's cap hit. This is not to compare Flacco or his play to any other player because I think everyone including Flacco will say he's under performed, it's more to show the thinking behind why the Ravens signed Flacco to the contract extension they did in 2016. Those new contracts will push Flacco's contract down to the 7-12 range and maybe even lower should a few other younger QBs find a way to get paid. Not saying it's right or wrong, but imo this was the Ravens thinking on Flacco. Keep his cap number level and as the market and cap space increase over the years, his deal will be a bargain of sorts. 

2 hours ago, jazz1988 said:

 I don't think Aiken was being utilized properly in the first half of the season. I believe Marc Trestman was using him more on deep routes that don't necessarily  fit his strength consistently. Aiken is in a  similar mold as Anquan Boldin (no I'm not saying he is as good as him)  which is  a receiver that doesn't have the speed to beat you deep but good enough to make plays on outside at times but has the physical strength and height to cause problems in the slot against nickel corners .

He wasn't good enough to consistently cause problems for LBs when Marty got him those match ups last year. So I doubt the Ravens are looking at him as a guy who can be at the top of the rotation and if he's just a #3 or #4 again what's the point of bringing him back? He has a role in the NFL, I just don't think it's in a WCO offense. 

1 hour ago, The Raven said:

Maybe he's cheaper because he's not as good. As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to improve the WR position. Legitimately improve it. You don't do that by holding on to guys.

And as rmw already said, Kamar is packing his bags to go elsewhere.

I think the Ravens feel the same way. No knock to Aiken because he stepped up when the team needed him to, but the team is looking for game changers and Aiken doesn't fit the mold. He'd be good for a team who already has a #1 guys established and just need a nice compliment. The Ravens need play makers and I think they're more willing to allow guys like Perriman, Moore and anyone drafted to develop into those guys than to give Aiken a nice payday to stay. 

11 hours ago, jazz1988 said:

I don't understand why Kamar Aiken is somewhat unappreciated . The guy had 900 receiving yards  and 5 touchdowns in 2015 and caught 60 percent of his passes. He can play outside as well as inside and has shown to be dependable in the past. He had a down year last year and I'm not surprised by that after seeing him being pushed to play on special teams and not getting the chances on offense like he would have expected after his 2015 season..I have seen Ravens fans talk about Pierre Garcon and Robert Woods but I think Kamar Aiken is a similar player as them  and may even be cheaper..

Those numbers are inflated and makes Aiken's 2015 look better than it really was. In the first half of the season when he was the #2 guy, he was only targeted 44 times with 24 catches. 4 of those 8 games Aiken had a total of 5 catches for 27 yards. You just can't have a starting WR disappear from the offense like that. In those 4 games Flacco had a total of 109 completions and your starting WR only had 5 of them? No where near good enough. Over the final 8 games of the season he was targeted 83 times, which is why I think he doesn't get as much credit. As a #2 WR he disappeared in half of the 8 games played, but when the Ravens had to target him 10+ times each game, his production increased. The Ravens need a WR that can get open and make plays consistently, even when it's other talented surrounding him. 

5 hours ago, Tank 92 said:

While the numbers look as though they point to Britt, I don't trust him or his knees. Also, thinking those stats are probably a product of him being the lone option in the Rams receiving corps. Remember 2015 Aiken? 

Marshall is a beast but will be high $ and brings his own set of risks.

For me Garcon is the best option of these 3. He's sure handed, been pretty healthy throughout his career and is a stand up guy. Just seems to make sense.  Question is are the Skins going to let him walk and if he's available can the Ravens sign him. I for one sure hope so. 

Edit.... Just read some of the other related posts and it looks like I just regurgitated much of what has already been said. Sorry for the repeat. 

Np, a lot of those post were pretty long. 

But what I will say about Britt and the notion that he's an injury risk, he's missed 1 game in the last 3 years and a total of 7 since getting injure in the 2011 season. In that 5 year window h's played more games than Dez Bryant, Aj Green and Julio Jones. He torn both his ACl and MCL in 2011, dealt with the recovery process in 2012 and hasn't been much of a injury concern since. I think his injury history and the lack of trust in him is really only a concern because people don't hear about him as a result of playing for the terrible Rams. 

3 hours ago, The Raven said:

The problem is that Aiken probably has an issue with re-signing. I highly doubt he sticks around.

I don't think he will and I don't think the Ravens really want him, but if he did stick I wouldn't be upset. 

10 hours ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

I'm focusing on this part because this is the crux of where we differ. 

The Ravens said they want a complimentary receiver. I don't think that means big, physical and who can make plays down field when needed. 

I honestly don't think Marshall, Garçon or Britt is necessarily what they're looking for, but I'd definitely take Marshall bc I think he's a far superior player that won't cost as much and can likely be had on a shorter deal and therefore you're not taking on as much risk. 

Britt is going to cost similar to the other two, but doesn't have the track record (even if comparable over a recent 2-3 year snap shot), has never stood out on a good team, and is going to require a 5 year commitment. Not doing that on a questionable player. 

Side note: for any of the 1st down stats to really tell us anything we'd have to know things like average depth of target and down/distance of each. Meaning if every throw to a player was at a depth of 12 yds and on 1st down and 10... yes every catch will be a 1st down. That doesn't mean he's a clutch guy on 3rd down who gets open in obvious passing situations and can fight for that 1st. 

Not knocking or discrediting any of it... just pointing out that without context it's just as simple as comparing yards and catches. 

I think Britt will be looking at Marvin Jones type money at about 4yrs 28Mil that will probably have big bonus money and a smaller cap number over the first two year. I think Garcon will be looking at a much larger commitment imo. Somewhere around 4yrs 36Mil. It's my thinking that moving forward Britt and Garcon will produce at a similar rate, but Britt has the potential to be much more of a difference maker imo. 

I agree that Garcon has  proven track record and Britt doesn't as much. Imo that's why Britt will come cheaper but looking at their 3 year trend track which is more of a future indicator then a entire career, Britt will be a bargain for some team. That's my only point. All the stats were just to show that difference between the 2 might not be as far apart as many think. 

As for the 3rd down stats. I pointed you to this site at some point, I'm sure it probably got lost through all the other stats. It only gives one year but again, what you've done for me lately gives a much better indicator of what you can do for me moving forward than your entire career imo. The site i looked at Britt converting 17 3rd downs into 1st downs. That's 36% of his 1st downs coming when the team needed him to make a play on 3rd down. They only ranked that top 21 WRs and Garcon didn't make the list so I couldn't get his numbers. http://hosted.stats.com/fb/leaders.asp?type=Receiving&range=NFL&rank=104

In terms of cutting Wallace for Britt. I think Britt has proven enough to show that he'd be more of a consistent chain mover and could also provide the same big plays as Wallace, so imo it's an upgrade. I like Mike Wallace to be clear. 

23 minutes ago, PurpleCity5 said:

The Ravens tend to find gems and contributors among veteran cuts. I personally view Mangold in that category, he would love to stay in NY but in a lot of websites and sources I've read, it seems that he's not returning and that there's a good chance he's cut. If so I could certainly imagine him coming here. As you said in regards to other FAs, sell, sell, SELL on him playing with a franchise as good and managed as the Ravens. Playing for the Jets takes a toll on a player and I know he wants to know what winning feels like again. He's made his money, I don't think he wants to waste his time playing for an underwhelming franchise like Cleveland unless someone severely overpays which I doubt will be the case. 

I think he'll compliment Yanda very well and both will further influence Stanley and Lewis to be more physical linemen. You can't let him leave the facility without a deal. 

Agreed. Don't know what their relationship is but he's played under Marty before and was said to have mastered the oline calls. So that might be another plus.