Matty G

lol. No comments on the kicker article

Yea, I think the Ravens have learned from these contracts. I noticed Yandas nor Jimmy Smiths were back loaded and I don't think Joe's new contact will be back loaded either. The Ravens and all teams need that flexibility towards the end to decide if the player is even worth the money anymore, but with the back loaded contracts, the teams are kinda stuck with what they have, with very little room room for bargaining.

Man would I love for the Raven to pick up a 3 down back that punishes defenses late in the game. We have not had one in Baltimore since Jamal Lewis. Would be great to have another Jamal 2.0

I agree, I am really starting to question the Ravens decision making lately (but what do I know). We have Monroe at left tack and he plays well when healthy which isn't very often, but we have to keep our fingers crossed because he only saves us 2 mill against the cap if released and he can't be replaced for two million. Osemele is great at guard and that is where he should stay, and if we need him to fill in for tackle great. Also, some of these talks and signing really have me wondering. So we are going to let Monroe go for only 2 mil savings? We just signed Trent Richardson (kinda a joke). And I can't believe we were going to give Torrey Smith 7 mil a year, thank god San Fran offered him more. I don't know, I just feel extremely pessimistic about our future, which is not in my nature, I am usually extremely optimistic when it come to the Ravens.

Yea, I am not sure who structures these contracts for the Ravens, but it has surely put us in a pickle. Also, I noticed Biscotti expressed concern about the way they are structuring these deals, I think he made mention of even cap hits is the way to go. Furthermore, maybe the owner is now taking more authority. I noticed Yanda and Smiths contracts were not back loaded as we are used to seeing.

1. That depends on how you define "mediocre seasons". I didn't think anything about his 2014 season was mediocre, particularly his playoff production 2. You risk having to pay him more, with relatively no risk of having to pay him less. Well I just hope for the best.

Sure you do. Brees got one, Palmer, Kaepernick, Rivers, Dalton Etc. all got resigned or extended even with mediocre seasons. They, along with Flacco have "Franchise Qb" label (except Kaep) Well lets go ahead and give him an extension then. I just hope he has a better season than he did last year which was abysmal at best and also hope he doesn't pull a Dennis Pitta and re injure his blown out knee.........So lets do it, lets give him more money.

Sorry, you lost all credibility once you said that Wilson is mediocre. All possible statistics and on-field success pretty much destroys that argument immediately. And if you'll notice... these teams you described were able to build great defenses AT THE SAME TIME that they paid top tier money to QBs. You do realize that the Broncos won the SB last season with a great defense AND a QB playing on a $17.5M cap number? That's the dirty little secret that fans seem to misunderstand... you quite literally can have both. In order to do that, you need to draft well and have cheap, quality defensive players, which is what Denver had in many areas, same thing for Carolina and Seattle. Its also pretty telling that quite literally every team that built their team around "defense" also had zero issue throwing out large sums of cash to their franchise QBs when the time came. So either they ALL have no idea what they're doing and fans know more than they do.... or..... I get it bro. But why would you give a huge extension to a qb that has had mediocre seasons and is coming off a major knee injury. That is the point I am trying to make

Agree. No chance that a threat of cut or release will be used. Linta isn't stupid and the Ravens aren't neither. I do however get the feeling that even though they say they have been "friend" for years, there is a huge amount of animosity there. It seem that they just don't like each other. Yea, but you don't give an extension to a qb that has had mediocre seasons since the super bowl. Also, he is coming off a major knee injury and while many players snap back there are a lot that don't. Also while many teams will pay premium dollars for a mediocre qb doesn't mean the Ravens have to. Defense wins Championships. While I am not say we should cut Joe, that would be absurd, but I think an extension at this time would be foolish.

No, he won't be released. That's the point. Guys like Joe don't get released, because in many cases, it takes many, many, many years in order to replace him. That's the point. There really is no scenario where Joe gets released, short of him pulling a Ray Rice. He can play like he did in 2013, when he had his worst season, and he will still sign an extension worth $20M a year or more. Why? Because that's the market rate for said QB. There's this false perception around fans that having less dead money and more cap savings allows us the ability to threaten to release somebody. That would generally work... if anybody on the planet thought you could replace that player. But no realistic person thinks we'd have a prayer of finding a better QB next season or probably in the short-term after that, meaning in order to be willing to cut Flacco, you have to be willing to lose for several years in the hopes of finding the next Andrew Luck. Needless to say, there's many teams who have been trying this (Cleveland, Buffalo, Miami, etc.) for quite literally a decade or longer, and have many failed attempts in doing so. Make no mistake... the alleged "threat" of a release is a laughable notion, and Joe's agent knows this very well. Its great for fans to pretend like its a possibility, but its not. Again, if he has another year like 2016, why on earth would you give him an extension. Two, Joe is coming off a major knee injury, and while many players snap back there are a lot that don't. Three, it has been shown in the past couple super bowls that superbowls are mostly won on defense. Peyton was mediocre and so is Wilson. Look, I agree that qb's are a hot commodity and yes teams will pay premium price, but that does not mean the Ravens have to. Pay premium money for a premium player is how I see it, and since the super bowl run you could say our qb has been very suspect. Granted he helped us win a superbowl, but the old saying goes......."It's not what you have done for me, but what have you done for me lately"

Not likely. Why would Linta take a threat of a trade or cut seriously? How is that bad for his client? He's not stupid... he sees how terrible the QB landscape is in the NFL right now, and he sees that there's at least a half dozen teams every single season looking to upgrade that position. If I were him... I'd call their bluff. I'd say cut my client. I'll just sit back and watch the feeding frenzy that will occur when teams like Cleveland, Houston, Jets, Rams, 49ers, Bills, etc. realize there's a Joe Flacco level QB on the FA market or available via trade. He'd probably make more from those teams than he would in Baltimore. Sorry, that strategy isn't going to work. The "leverage" play implies that the Ravens have an alternative of moving on from him, which they don't. Because at the end of the day, they're left with some draft picks and no QB, or worse, no additional draft picks and no QB. Not like you guys can just walk into FA or even into the draft and just pluck a Flacco-level QB off a tree. There's teams that have spent a decade or more looking for one and still can't find one... He was referring to next year to renegotiate, and yes, the Ravens will have much greater leverage than this year because we free up 15 mill by releasing him. Also, a negotiation next year will be beneficial, because we will eat a lot of money this year, which means even lower cap hits going forward. And yes we could release Flacco next year. First off, Flacco, prior to getting injured was having a horrible 2016 campaign and if he repeats that performance this year, than yes he could be released.

Im sorry, but I think I missed the injury update. We were just told what we knew 6 months ago, aside from the Gilmore surgeries.

Agree, if we had the possibility of a super bowl run this year than I may say go ahead with the extension so we can be as competitive as possible. Unfortunately there are just too many holes and I would rather Ozzy eat the money rather than sacrifice the teams future. Also, Flacco is coming of a serious knee injury........Wouldn't want the ravens to make the same mistake again, but like all history, it seems to always repeat itself.

Well, lets put it this way...Joe's average cap hit for the next three years as presently assembled is $28.15M. There's really nothing the Ravens can do from a contractual perspective that would make that number worse. Well sure, but I can't see them getting that number down by any more than 3 million. Meaning a new extension with even cap hits I think is estimated at around 25 mill per year (cap hit). If we wait until next year, it goes significantly lower and we will have more leverage with negotiation. Plus Flacco is coming off of a serious knee injury and a horrible season. I really hope the negotiations come next year rather than this year.

I mean, yes and no. The $28M is what matters to fans and mostly to the organization. It's NOT, however, what matters to Joe or his agent. And what matters to them is arguably all that matters, since they've got all the leverage. That's sort of the irony of the situation. The Ravens want to lower his cap hit because it's too high, and Joe might want to negotiate because his pay for this year might be too low. Well hopefully everything goes smoothly, I just hope they don't sacrifice the future of the team to save cap space this year, considering we are a little ways from becoming truly competitive again

Again we go over this every single time we are talking about Flacco's contract. He is not due 28 million. He is only getting paid 18 million this year. sorry let me reword this. his cap figure for 2016 is 28.55 million Yea like who cares. It is the 28 million that matters most anyhow.

It is ludicrous to cut Joe this year. There is absolutely nothing to be gained period. If the Ravens don't negotiate with Joe this year, it will be only to assure themselves that he's healthy enough to play long term given the severe ACL/MCL tears on his knee. They'll take a lesson out of Pitta's situation and play safe. Also, like someone said, they'll have more leverage next year to re-negotiate Joe's contract because his cap number will be a laughable 34MM. At that point if Linta wants to gamble with his only meal ticket, he's going to be in trouble. Also, I believe with another year in the books, Joe's performance metrics will be cemented as to his production which in turn will give the Ravens a little more leverage in negotiating a fair deal perhaps in 16-18MM a year range. But, let's wait and see what happens. One thing I do know is this. If Joe's contract is unaltered this year, I frankly don't see a successful year in 2016. Yea, I really don't hope they don't restructure Joes contract this year due to Joe having all the leverage once again. I think in years to come, fans and management alike will look back and be glad they didn't restructure. Doing it this year just pushes the money down the road once again and I believe Biscotti wants that to change. I noticed Yanda and Jimmie didn't get back loaded contracts. Maybe it is Biscotti who is now keeping a closer eye on how these contracts are formed. Also, even with a Joe restructure this year I don't see how the Ravens are competitive. I think we are at least two years out from becoming a super bowl contender. I would rather them not sacrifice the future and look at 2016 as a rebuilding year. Can't win em all!

Ngata was always a greedy player. I hope he stays in Detroit.

Love Williams and Jerrnigan has potential, bit this is year 3 for him. I don't expect much more than mediocre. And for Nagta, stay in Detroit, you always were a greedy player and I hope you are not in the Ravens ring of honer.

Lets get Bosa. And for Holgti Ngata, Stay in Detroit, you were always a selfish player and I hope you are not in the ring of honer for the Ravens.

Well the Ravens back loaded contracts and suspect drafting has finally caught up with them. Flacco carries a 28 million dollar cap hit this year and to be honest I hope Ozzy just leaves it be and renegotiate in 2017. One reason is Flacco again has all the leverage and for him to take a cap friendly deal would only push the money down the road and we will be back at the tables in 3 years again. Also, flacco is a great quarter back, but is not worth the contract he was given(granted he kinda had the ravens by the balls at the time, had the Ravens paid earlier we wouldnt be in this situation, but the ravens gambled and lost). If the Ravens wait, the organization will have much better leverage with negotiation in the following year. Also, Flacco did not play well last year and if he has another year like last, the ravens may seriously regret working out an extension at this time. Last note, ravens are in big trouble. Holes in almost every position. This team may be a playoff team next year, but far far from being a super bowl contender. I say we just bite the bullet now