Report: LT Eugene Monroe one of Ravens' priorities

[Bravens292]

Well, with it not looking like he's getting tagged, hopefully this means that we feel that we're close to a deal and didn't feel the need to keep him off the market.

 

like the optimism in that. hopefully you're right

[JO_75]

4 pm, any news?

[The Raven]

Well, no tag I guess. Get the deal done.

[rmw10]

4 pm, any news?

 

Looks like we didn't tag him.  I'm honestly shocked.

[izvoodoo]

Looks like we didn't tag him.  I'm honestly shocked.

we still have time to work out a deal before free agency

[SaraB]

Sigh...I'm shocked as well.  It's just so hard to replace known left tackle talent.

[SecretAgentMan]

Should've tagged him

[EnVy_CaLiBeR]

Deal incoming. Bank on it. 

[rmw10]

we still have time to work out a deal before free agency

 

Yeah I just thought we'd tag him as a precaution.  In my opinion though, this likely means that we feel we can work something out with him before the 8th, or that we don't feel like we can get something done and didn't want the $11.6M cap hit.

[bMore Heathen]

I think we have till March 8 to reach a deal. If they felt they were close, they might have decided to not complicate things with a tag.... Hopefully....

[The Raven]

Either a deal is coming or we didn't feel like paying him that massive franchise tag salary. Who knows?

[Mt. Crushmore]

I think this as a sign that a deal is close and will be done soon or they were too far apart on terms and he isn't coming back. 

[JO_75]

Deal incoming. Bank on it.

If that's the case we should have tagged Jones.

[rmw10]

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet  

#Ravens OT Eugene Monroe has not been informed he’s been given a tag of any kind. Means March 11 looms large if they want to keep him

[The Raven]

If that's the case we should have tagged Jones.

 

How does that make sense? Then we'd have a $10M salary for him and likely a $10M salary for Monroe. Come on now...

[Ravenslifer]

I'm thinking they have to be close to a deal and decided to forgo the tag because of it.  These things also tend to happen quickly - it seemed like all of last week we were talking about Pitta leaving, and in the span of a day or two we've got him locked up for 5 years.

[SecretAgentMan]

I think he's as good as gone....... 

 

Hate to say it but I'm not confident without the tag

[Im Too Legendary]

I read in a previous article that all but one person that we've franchised before, we were able to work out a long term deal. 

I'm not quite sure of the intricate workings of the cap & franchise tag, but would we have been able to franchise Monroe and and work out a deal that would inevitably be able to nullify the cap-hit of the 2014-2015 season? Or regardless of a new contract or not, once the tag is placed the cap still takes the hit that it was supposed to prior to working out a contract?

[rmw10]

I think this as a sign that a deal is close and will be done soon or they were too far apart on terms and he isn't coming back. 

 

I think those are the only 2 options at this point.  I don't see anyway we can let him hit the market and still come back.

[Dewy101]

Yeah Monroe isn't coming back

[Ravenslifer]

If that's the case we should have tagged Jones.

 

If you mean Art, I think he's listed as a DE and the tag for DEs is 13 million - the only one that's higher is QB.  That's a good chunk of our cap space gone, and I don't think the team wanted to handcuff themselves like that so early, even if all it was going to be was a bridge to a long-term deal this offseason.

[Tank 92]

My guess is that a deal is close. I'll be very surprised if we let him walk.

[52520Andrew]

Hopefully this means a deal is coming but I am not going to be overly optimistic. They know Miami will throw money at him and if not them, someone else. Unless we get a deal soon, he is as good as gone.

[cobrajet]

Yeah Monroe isn't coming back

That actually depresses me. I hope you are wrong.

[BmoreBird22]

That actually depresses me. I hope you are wrong.

He just doesn't like Monroe

[fusuymada]

WNST ‏@WNSTMatt Zenitz: "No discussions between Eugene Monroe and the #Ravens. Will test the free agent market."Well, that's no good. He's a guy we should be prioritizing during our exclusive negotiating period. I fear if we let him test the open market, some team will offer him a deal that we can't afford to match. I'd like to think he wants to stay here, but I don't think that's something we can count on. Monroe is the most important FA we have. If we don't re-sign him, the whole scope of our offseason has to change.Mod note: this has been retracted. Jump to page 2.

The Ravens must feel comfortable enough they can work out a deal before free agency starts that they didn't feel it was necessary to tag him and maybe put a rift in the talks. Smith is more of a fear to me and I certainly hope we get him signed because for what he made last year, where are we going to find another person with his skill to run a defense.

[BirdWatcher]

I hope Ozzie has a Plan B because I suspect Monroe is moving back to Florida.

[rmw10]

I hope Ozzie has a Plan B because I suspect Monroe is moving back to Florida.

 

That's a real possibility, in my opinion.  He's really into the fishing scene.  Despite his wife being from the area, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to have a few extra million to spend and avoid all of this snow.

[52520Andrew]

Maybe if this winter were a little bit more mild lol

[redlobster]

This leaves the Ravens open to targeting Jared Veldheer now, as he didn't get tagged by Oakland