BigUgly

I'm OK with the best of Hurst, Lewis, Wesley and Nembot plus a fair priced vet competing for the LG and RT spots. Most of those guys currently on our roster were Left Tackles in college.

The boards closing on April 1st, eh. There's an old band of folks from espy days over on thesidelinereport.com, for those interested. Not as classy as this forum, however.

He was a nice player, a real athlete that was a better receiver than blocker. I thought he was over-drafted in 2013 relative to his position and pedigree, but that said he was probably underutilized as an offensive weapon.

At this rate, the only "splash" signing the FO will be able to make in free agency would be a Mangold. I sure hope they have an extension for Wallace in the works. Should really cut Zuttah, Arrington, Watson, and cut the salary or outright cut Pitta and Webb. Might be enough to nab Marshall (assuming he even wants to come here) and maybe another CB.

Thought the Ravens would've made more salary cap purges by now (Wright, Lewis, Zuttah, etc.). I hope they aren't going to stand pat with this team - less Juice, Wagner and Williams of course.

I think you may be on to something. There are players with first round grades in the top 50; an unusually solid draft particularly on defense. If the Ravens can get 3 picks in the first 50, that might be worth considering. I just don't think we can afford the time to draft a "developmental" guy too high at edge, OL, or CB/FS. We just don't have the depth there.

Not really interested in Williams or Harris at #16. Williams is a one-dimensional part-time player and has some character flags. Harris would be a better get in the second, if available. Of course, Williams does have the key attribute - a 'Bama pedigree.

Nab Marshall and Mangold, extend Wallace to defer the cap hit, and try and re-sign Wagner. The Offense would be set. Draft edge, CB, and FS in the first 3 rounds, and then fill in on the lines of scrimmage as able.

Ravens were right to wait. Why give up draft picks for someone you know will be released? Besides, I'm sure SSSr and others have reached out to him to recruit him to the Ravens, and the Ravens should be able to give him $7M per for 2-3 years and retain Wallace. The only issue is, does Marshall perceive the Ravens as a legit playoff contender? He can't hold any new team in high regard that lost to his old team.

Aiken disappeared because Joe had other, more viable targets. His breakout 2015 year came when Joe's BFF Pitta was out with an injury, as was Perriman. SSSr was out for part of the year then as well, and there was no Wallace. Why look Aiken's way when you are sure Pitta will get open 2 yards in front of the sticks? Aiken is a tall possession receiver with good hands. He would be a nice #3, but the #2 and #3 role is now effectively taken by Pitta.

Yeah, I'm sure the Skins were thinking about Joe and his contract when they slapped the tag on Cousins for the second straight year. He certainly isn't the best QB in the league, and not worth the $25M the tag will give him this year, but that's the price the Skins will pay to avoid a long term commitment. This will blow up in their face, as Cousins will be traded this year or walk the next, and leave the Skins in the exact same boat they have been in for most of the last few decades - uncertainty at QB. The point is, you have to pay a QB what the market will bear, and stability (in terms of performance and health) carries a bit of a premium.

Yeah, I think it's a given he stays for this year, but I don't think there's much chance they choose to extend. Why not? He was very productive, runs the best slant route in the league (and Joe has finally figured out how to target that route), and he has excellent speed. The have a cap crunch in 2017 that eases dramatically in 2018. Why not extend him a year or so, reduce the cap hit this year, and retain his productivity and veteran leadership for a bit longer. It's not like the guy is 37.

Having Jamal Charles as a 3rd down back should enable him to stay healthier and might be a nice complementary back to our current roster. No reason to pay more than $2M/per for him. It also wouldn't make sense to break the bank for Hightower or Pryor - the former is a bit overrated, and the latter put up good numbers as the ONLY viable WR on his team (like Aiken in 2015). I would like to see the FO go after Marshall or Garcon, quality secondary depth (FS or CB) and OL help (C, G, RT). If that means performing some minor cap surgery on the existing 8-8 quality roster, so be it.

Athletes are the only ones who get scholarships? No, but athlete's scholarships are revokable for reasons other than academic performance or behavior, unlike academic scholarships. If you get injured playing ball, they can strip your scholarship and then where are you as a student athlete?

Levine is a poor man's (older man's) Jabrill Peppers...a hybrid athlete who defies a single position designation. In this case, I think both he and Peppers are nice complementary guys, presuming you already have solid depth as safety and CB, which we do not. Of course, they should also be key special teams guys, which Levine certainly is.

The Ravens should be in contention for a playoff spot but likely not a championship (at least on paper). That said, one never know what a team that gets hot at the right time can do, as we've seen before. Losing Wagner, Williams, and Juice won't significantly hurt our chances as we have proven we can easily replace talent there. If the cap savings enables us to retain Wallace, perhaps sign another decent WR (Marshall, Garcon, etc.), some quality secondary help and another OL before the draft, then that would actually make the team better, IMO. My only hope is that FO resists the urge to overdraft a "high motor, high character" guy when there is better football talent available.

I see them likely extending Wallace's contract, and adding a year or two with more bonus money. We'll have the cap room to absorb any dead money in 2018 and '19 should Wallace fail to work out.

He is not a downgrade. Injury and quarterback play has a role in the offensive line. He was injured last year, he had terrible quarterback play, but still hasn't given up a sack in 33 games. He was named to the pro bowl the two years before last year. Definitely an upgrade. Yup, and he doesn't get shoved around in the middle like Zuttah does. Since his injury was just an ankle, I would expect him to be fully healthy this season and to have at least 2 more years in the tank.

If rumors of Harbs' influence in the draft room are to be believed, we may want the old voices back in the draft. I'm happy there will be a new voice along the O-Line, and though Marty is relatively new as our OC, I'm not holding out much hope for the offense regardless of the talent they may be able to acquire.

I think that had more to do with his attitude than his arm. By all accounts, he finally put in the work off the field to become a pro while with the Ravens. If he doesn't sign elsewhere, I wouldn't mind him back here.

OK, here's some perspectives with back-of-the-envelope salary cap math (not using my kids' new common core curriculum, which would result in every answer being "42"). Paying LT money for an OG is silly...the Ravens were wise to let KO walk. As for Wagner, Juice and Williams, the Ravens could "afford" to pay to keep all three, but the opportunity cost would be an inability to sign players for depth at other positions (ILB, OG, C, WR, DB/FS). The Ravens currently have about $15M in cap space. Assuming they make a reasonable set of cuts (Watson/Pitta, Doom, Wright, Lewis, maybe Webb, Zuttah, etc.) that would push the number up to about $25M net of dead money. Ozzie wisely likes to plug holes in the roster in free agency ahead of the draft. The market price to keep Wager (est. $7M), Williams ($11M - your estimate) and Juice (est. $2.5M) would be over $20M. That would leave a scant $5M to plug holes at RT/G (depending on where you slot Alex Lewis), center ($1.5M), ILB ($1M), CB ($2M), Edge ($4M) and FS ($1.5M). Also, don't forget that we will need to sign a backup QB ($2M). That's about $12M in needs. If you believe in Alex Lewis at RT, and Pierce at NG, and that finding quality blocking FB (albeit without Juice's ability to catch the 3-yarder in the flat route) is fairly easy, the Ravens should invest the bulk of their notional $25M cap space in an edge rusher, defensive backfield, ILB and interior O-Line (in that order) in my opinion. Pay for playmaker positions, and fill-in/draft/develop the rest. RT, NG, and FB aren't playmaker positions. Besides, we'll get comp picks to replenish those guys that were drafted in the mid rounds anyway.

Let's think about this. We fans are apparently wringing our hands in grief at losing an OG (Osemele), a the prospect of losing a RT, a NG and a FB in free agency. None of those positions is worth overpaying for, regardless of the cap situation. Let them all go with fond wishes for success, let other teams overpay for their services, and invest the difference in their replacements and perhaps a playmaker or two.

Here is some of the "junk" Ozzie has collected in those rounds that have been key contributors: Lewis, Dixon, Young, Juice, Wagner, McPhee, Tyrod Taylor, and Pitta. Jury is still out on guys like Judon and Zadarius Smith. In fact, Ozzie & co seem to have done relatively better in the later rounds than they have in the 2nd and 3rd recently. Maybe they should just trade back for monster 4th round opportunities (half kidding)

Really looking forward to John's book. Sounds like he will have some very interesting insights from multigenerational owners who have seen this game evolve from an almost XFL-like afterthought to the college game into the juggernaut it is today. Agree with all of John's premises to improve the game. One area contributing to injuries, I believe, is actually the reduction in preparation time and practice time (including contact drills) hammered out by the collective bargaining agreement. Yes, players are getting bigger and faster, but they are less prepared for full-speed game situations now than ever before. The result is sloppy play, poor technique, and a lack of preparedness for the violence that is inherent in the game. Have the draft in March, and get the players in with their teams for training and practice more frequently prior to the season. The result will be a higher quality product and fewer injuries.

Stanley was hurt early and it took him a couple of games to get healthy and adjust for the pro game. Ditto for Lewis. He didn't get an opportunity at RT because there was no reason for him to move out of the spot he was learning. The kid was a LT at Nebraska...hardly a chump. I would be fine with him at RT. It's easier to find a guard or center in the draft you can slot in right away, or pick up a more affordable veteran than Wagner at RT if need be. Besides, with Castillo gone, I expect the entire line to play better.