balfan23

Yes - give or take. The fact is, we really don't know what it is going to take to sign our FAs Juice and Wagner or whether Wallace or Webb will be extended. Personally, I prefer to look at it as having $18M in space, after we sign 3 RFAs (Orr, West and Camp), our ERFAs, hold back $6.5M for rookie signings and cut Doom, Pitta, Watson, Arrington and Lewis. Depending on how many of our rookies make the 53-man roster, that leaves us with only about 43-46 players on the roster. Obviously, that means a nice chunk of that $18M in space will be dedicated to filling out the roster, above and beyond the FAs that we sign who are noteworthy. IMO the best resource for all things cap is Brian McFarland: http://russellstreetreport.com/2016/12/27/baltimore-ravens-salary-cap/ravens-2017-offseason-preview/

Oh - I agree completely. Wagner is priority #1 FA for us this offseason, not Williams.

The drop from $30M to $16M that was stated includes the $6M for tenders to only 2-3 RFAs (Orr, West and maybe Camp) plus non-notable EFA signings. Another $5M (which I've heard is going to be more like $6.5M) for signing the rookie class. Then $10M for Wagner and Juice (which is very much an estimate without a real knowledge of what the market will bear). So that leaves about $9M for FA signings other than Wagner and Juice. We'll probably get some additional relief by offering extensions to Webb and perhaps Wallace (or cutting them, if extensions can't be worked out). Understand though - we have a roster to fill out as there are still going to be significant holes to fill. I anticipate all of our free money is going to be spent filling other holes with mid-level FAs and other teams roster cuts. Put it all together and this is why many of us believe it is a foregone conclusion that B Will is not going to be a Raven in 2017. Perhaps we find the money to do it, but that will mean going super cheap on trying to address other needs.

To be expected. I think there is very little chance we are able to retain him and I think many others feel that way. So they are trying to marginalize his contribution in order to not feel that we're taking a hit. That said ... I agree with the sentiment that a run stuffing rotational NT is not a place where you need to expend big money. IMO, Williams is a very solid player, but isn't a game changing play maker. We have very limited resources and I just don't see anyway we match what other teams will offer. What surprises me more is the confidence that Pierce is going to just step in and be the poor man's Williams. Have we really seen enough of him to have confidence that he'll be able to fill that void without a significant drop off in performance? I don't think so. Perhaps it will work, but it feels like a significant gamble - but one we may unfortunately have to take.

I know ... some people just seem to plug their ears when they are told something they don't want to hear.

With all the discussion around Zuttah, I must say ... people talk incessantly about what we lost from the Super Bowl championship team and only include Ray and Ed, along with the highly controversial release of Q and the overpaid defectors (Ellerbe and Kruger). One guy who seems to never get mentioned but was a HUGE loss and a guy we've just not sufficiently replaced was Birk. A very underrated major contributor to our success during the years he played here.

Initially, I thought that Webb would most likely be an outright cut, given his $5.5M savings ... however, since he's only under contract through 2017 and since I think he could be effective for at least a year beyond that given his role at S, I'm thinking another cost reducing extension may be offered first before we take more drastic action. I think we could probably trim about $2.5M off his cap hit which may make it worth keeping him. The same may apply to Wallace. He is one that would provide an equally substantial savings in a cut, but our WR position is so thin, I think we will want to find a way to keep him, but reduce his hit. Since he is also only signed through 2017, a small extension may be a possibility.

Here's the problem. Like every offseason, we need to shake down the sofa cushions for spare change. We have expended a 2nd round pick (with a trade up), a 3rd round pick and 2 - 5th round picks on the TE position. All have questions, but I don't believe the FO is ready to give up on them. All are young and have some level of promise. I even believe that if all are healthy and worthy of a roster spot, we'll be willing to float Waller between TE and WR (given the injury history of this group). We'll need the $3.3M in savings that cutting PItta will bring to patch up holes and sign a couple of our own FAs. We're just going to have to roll the dice and hope that one or two of these guys step up. I understand the sentiment that wants us to keep Pitta around and it isn't like he's terrible, so it does make for a tough choice. But making tough choices is what the FO does for a living.

I'm know a bit about the cap, but I'm no capoligist. From what I've seen, all of our efforts to reduce Joe's cap hit has really meant that we've committed ourselves to him farther out into the future. We're already in a position where there is no way to cut ties with him before the end of the 2019 season. I don't know if we want to put ourselves in a position to be beholden to him for yet longer

In that scenario, I've already considered Williams a goner. Now, if we didn't bother to sign Wagner, then I do think we'd be able to use the other cuts to sign Alshon.

Don't get me wrong. I'd love to have the WR group of Alshon, Wallace and Perriman. The problem is, I'm not sure where the $ is coming from to sign Alshon, if it doesn't come from cutting Wallace. It might be possible, but we're going to have to get rid of pretty much everyone that is on the cut line aside from Wallace to sign Wagner, our rookies and fill out the roster with other pieces and parts. We may be able to get creative with the contract and fit it in, but it would be tight.

Not sure about the falling in love part ... he is just the prototypical aging former star that is available and that would be a replacement for SSS. Personally, I don't know whether it is him or someone else ... which is why I said we'd possibly sign "someone like Garcon".

No doubt. The level to which we address the position will depend on what we think of Wallace. He showed signs of returning to at least something closer to his old self than we've seen in a couple years, but to say he did not finish strong would be an understatement. He's due $8M and would save $5.75M off the cap. That's a nice chunk of change and could go a long way to signing someone other than an aging former star WR. Now, who would that be? I'm not sure if it is Jeffrey ... but there isn't much on the FA market. Perhaps we could seek a trade of the ilk that we made with Q. If we stick with Wallace, we'll look to sign someone like Garcon. If we are willing to part ways with him, then we'll obviously need to use that money on the WR position and not spend it elsewhere.

Oh, you better believe that if Jeffrey came here and got a nice contract - the moment he gets hurt (which history tells us will happen), we'll have the chorus of people shrieking about how we make bad contracts with injury prone players. If we don't go for him, then the same people will shriek that we're not willing to take risks and play it too safe.

I really wish we could have gotten SSS a ring. With his fire and passion, he really deserves one. We were simply not good enough of a team during his stay here ... I don't want to think how bad we'd have been had we not put him on the roster. Just one of those players with a swagger and attitude that is in short supply on this team. He will be missed.

So, we can find a suitable replacement for him with the $300,000 we'll save by releasing him? If Jimmy plays 3 downs next year, he'll be worth that.

I was waiting for that response. So, exactly what did Pollard do after we released him? He had one good season and was out of the league. We didn't attempt to sign Ihedigbo as an FA, because we thought we had drafted his replacement. I didn't think he was reported to have butted heads with Harbaugh, but what does that matter? If he left, then we can just say that he was in Harbaugh's doghouse or whatever you'd like to fit your narrative. I also didn't realize that not having Ihedigbo turned us from a Super Bowl team to one that has missed the playoffs 3 of the past 4 years.

I don't mean to imply that I'm writing Correa off - but the year he had doesn't instill much confidence going forward. It would appear that he wasn't given a chance to develop at OLB, because Judon (a 5th rounder) took his spot, which isn't a good sign. It is much like Maxx, where he was also outplayed by a 5th rounder and was basically red shirted. Unfortunately, he is now 2 years red shirt and that is troubling. The primary point of the post was I'm concerned we are being overly cautious on the character issue when selecting players. Spence was a logical choice for us and is now a starter at a position of great need ... a position where we are now going to have to expend another very high pick to get production when there are so many other areas to address. He was defensive rookie of the month and appears to be poised to be a real contributor with a high ceiling. At the moment, Correa's ceiling appears to be that of a Paul Kruger. Now, if that means in 4 years he'll be a sack specialist on a Ravens Super Bowl winning team, I'll be OK with that

Spence is a guy who will naturally draw comparisons to Correa since we needed an edge rusher, Spence was there and was a logical choice but we traded back (presumably for character concerns) and went with the more clean-cut kid from Boise State. http://www.pewterreport.com/accolades-accumulating-for-bucs-de-spence/ Certainly a better result than being a ST player, then healthy scratch, then IR. I do think we need to walk a fine line with respect to character. You don't want an insubordinate, PR nightmare, but you need players that can make an impact and bring some swagger back to this team. By all accounts, our biggest need is still edge rusher. That need would be a little less acute had we taken Spence. We still have no idea what we have in Correa.

Of course it isn't. But looking at the situation, does it warrant blowing the entire team to bits and starting over? The article argues that PIT missed 3 or 5 and didn't take the scorched earth approach to the situation. Not sure what you're advocating to fix this, but if it involves the dismissal of the HC, what was also pointed out in this article is that PIT is in because they have drafted top notch playmakers over the past few years and we have not.

First off, the FO gets rid of players. Perhaps Harbaugh will have his say, but I'm not sure who it is that we got rid of solely because they bumped heads with Harbaugh, who would have otherwise been a great service to the team. Please don't say Boldin, because there was no indication that he and Harbaugh didn't get along. That IMO was purely an Ozzie move. Who else are you thinking of?

The article really appeared to put the majority of the blame on our inability to reach the playoffs for the 3rd time in 4 years on the front office, more than Harbaugh and his staff. While the article does appear to question what direction we'll ultimately go in terms of who will lead the offense, nothing at all hinted at a change at DC.

I know most people are clamoring for something new, but I have a feeling this is going to be the approach. The revolving door at OC is a problem and I do think they are going to want to see what Marty can do given the reigns from camp through a season.

Well, nothing with this team was ever guaranteed ... but you couldn't ask for an easier path to a conference championship. What makes it sting just a little more is that easy path is now the path for the Steelers. Almost a guaranteed NE v. PIT AFCC game. Unwatchable.

1) Pass rush ... both OLB and someone on the D line who can help. Of course, I was hoping we addressed that last year with our 2nd and 3rd round picks ... 2) Cornerbacks ... need a better starter in the slot and better depth since we can't have the entire defense go to pieces every time Jimmy goes off the field 3) Wide Outs ... Wallace (if he doesn't get cut for costs ...) and Perriman (who still looks lost out there). That's it? 4) Offensive Line ... this is almost only about getting quality depth ... maybe a starter over Zuttah, but IMO the starting O line when healthy isn't bad