[News] 2014 Ravens Free Agency Rumor Mill

[ravens4life86]

Were going to have a GIANT hole at Linebacker, the middle of our defense will be wide open. Say we retain Monroe or get Mack, kudos either way to Oz and upgrade to Oline. Then maybe they bring in a cut WR named Steve Smith for Veteran physical WR Boldin esque, but we lose Graham, D Smith, and Art Jones the last one expected.

Oz has work to do toplug middle Linebacker and 3rd CB, maybe a Champ bailey or Darelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, for 3rd CB... But with names like that its be better off resigning Graham.

Maybe if Smith thinks its better to walk, try getting Karlos Dansby, for a couple years.. Our LB core is going to [profanity deleted]s with Josh bynes and Art Brown. One misses half their tackles and cant get off a block, Bynes, the other is small chase linebacker weakside help in Brown. Now maybe Brown put weight on this year to take on the Ray Lewis, Smith role but without a true bonefied MLB like Smith or Dansby were going to get crushed over the middle

[surfdude]

Not good , Browns just OVER PAID for Dansby 4 years 24 million , same age as Smith. Way too much coin I would say re signing Smith is slim to none now.

[balfan23]

I wouldn't expect much movement by the Ravens immediately. Typically they wait for the frenzy to settle before pouncing. I do expect Monroe to resign today though.

I expected Monroe before 4PM. I guess it is still possible, but it seems like we're either going to let it run up to the final minute or are going to let the other dominoes fall at 4PM and hope that the landscape either remains the same or breaks in our favor. 

 

Feels risky ... it would seem that if both sides were really intent on keeping the relationship together, they'd just make compromises and have a deal complete. 

[rmcjacket23]

What about the 30 interceptions our QB threw when were doing all that throwing and no running. or all those sacks that our offensive line or a lack thereof gave up. We had not one stand out super star last year. for christ sake our best player was Legatron. Give Marlon a break.. My daughter was born December 8th 2013. and as I sat in the hospital cutting cords and changing diapers.. I saw Marlon perform extremely well in a blizzard.. and it wasnt all in the red zone. the dude averages 11 yds a catch which is a first down in the NFL that I watch

I did give him a break. But again, all indications from the FO is that they ARE NOT giving him a break.

I would advise all fans to temper your expectations.

[Cawtious]

Hoping to fill the gaping holes (OT, MLB, C, FS) before the draft so we can stick to our Best-Player-Available draft strategy.

No gaping hole at C.  317 pound "plug" with a nasty demeanor, and the smarts to get the job done already on the roster.  

[rmcjacket23]

C'mon man-Birk was a hell of a lot better than "Average". Are you sure you are'nt Mike Preston?

1. If you like PFF rankings (which I do, because they are the most well respected in the business), he was very average compared to his peers, and for multiple seasons. The pro bowl, all pro center that he WAS was never the person he WAS as a Raven.

2. The reason so many fans think Birk was great was because they just watched Gradkowski play, and are simply comparing Birk to Gradkowski. When you go from average to bad, anything that is average will look great. That's the problem.

[Ice Kriem]

Steve Smith and Jordan Matthews in round 2. Let's go Ravens!

[rmcjacket23]

Two things.

 

While Kubiak is known to run the ball his qbs always have good stats.  If Shaub can gave 4000 yrs Flacco should have 4,500 

That's great... now go look at the distributions of who he threw to... it was spread out to everybody. Heck, Kevin Walter was the #2 WR in that offense for years, and he never averaged more than 56 yards per game. And Jacoby, their #3 or #4 target (which is exactly would Brown would be), never eclipsed 40 yards per game in any of those 4,000 yard Schaub offenses.

[EdReedsOldGymSocks]

Steve Smith would be an expensive waste here!

 

First off, Joe doesn't get comfortable with 1st year FA guys regularly! It took him 3 years to find out how to target Q and Smith would only have a year!

 

$3 mil is being paid by CAR regardless..  we would only need to pay another $4 IF we wanted to match his currently salary. Something, i think, more in the range of $2-2.5 this yr + 3 next year is more fitting (signing bonus notwithstanding). Smith is a vet guy and probably not going to sign a 1 yr deal.

[NinjaTurtles]

Steve Smith on the Ravens.... I'm not even going to go there. I have no words to explain how awesome that would be.. "Ice Up Son" would instantly be my new slogan..

[JamesA119]

@rmcjacket23 "Yet, according to you, when we bring in a new OC who likes to run the ball and use TEs more, and we bring in competition for Marlon Brown's position, he's going to perform better? Ummmm... no. We will likely throw the ball far less than last season, and Brown will likely face stiff competition for snaps from the likes of a draft pick, FA signing, or even an Aaron Mellette (unlikely in my opinion)... all of that just to be the #3 option in an offense that will likely run the ball at least 50% of the time and doesn't utilize 3 WR packages that often.

Bottom line... I don't see it. If he produces at the exact same numbers he produced at in 2013, I'd consider that a pretty impressive feat."

You are marginalizing Marlon Brown's talent. Bear in mind that he was coming off a torn ACL tear and as a rookie. He tore his ACL later in the year than Webb, and he came back in the training camp. I am saying that he will be much better next year, and harder to defend. He caught everything that the QB threw in the right spots. Flacco oncee described him as having very strong hands. I see him as legitimate #2 WR, and heir-apparent to Boldin.

[rmcjacket23]

@rmcjacket23 "Yet, according to you, when we bring in a new OC who likes to run the ball and use TEs more, and we bring in competition for Marlon Brown's position, he's going to perform better? Ummmm... no. We will likely throw the ball far less than last season, and Brown will likely face stiff competition for snaps from the likes of a draft pick, FA signing, or even an Aaron Mellette (unlikely in my opinion)... all of that just to be the #3 option in an offense that will likely run the ball at least 50% of the time and doesn't utilize 3 WR packages that often. Bottom line... I don't see it. If he produces at the exact same numbers he produced at in 2013, I'd consider that a pretty impressive feat." You are marginalizing Marlon Brown's talent. Bear in mind that he was coming off a torn ACL tear and as a rookie. He tore his ACL later in the year than Webb, and he came back in the training camp. I am saying that he will be much better next year, and harder to defend. He caught everything that the QB threw in the right spots. Flacco oncee described him as having very strong hands. I see him as legitimate #2 WR, and heir-apparent to Boldin.

So if he's the heir-apparent to Boldin, why did the FO specifically address the need to find such a player this offseason? Do you typically discuss needing to find somebody who is already on your roster?

I suppose they could publicly say one thing and then do another, but then why do fans want us to draft Ebron or another WR that is a similar type player?

My answer to these questions is... because the FO doesn't view Brown as the heir-apparent to Boldin.

All of this is just speculation so far, but in about 2 months, we will know for sure what the FO thinks about Brown. If they go WR/TE early, or if they end up with multiple pass catchers throughout this offseason, it would be hard for anybody to sit there and say "Brown is the heir-apparent to Boldin".

While I may be selling him a bit short, I think a lot of you are equally selling him a bit long. I think there's people that believe he's a 900-1,000 yard receiver next season, and I think Madden is a very realistic place for that.

For the 20th time, my views currently have essentially been echoed by the words of the FO thus far.

[Orange_Peanut]

It's gonna be an arms race between the Ravens and Browns this year.

[ellicottraven]

I think that our interest is more on the side of Owen Daniels than Pettigrew now. Just my opinion, but but apparently he has a great relationship with Kubiak. Everyone still beleives he has alot of good years left.

But the thing is Owen Daniels is an older clone of Dennis Pitta, a good pass catching TE with limited blocking skills. But, Pettigrew is a better fit it seems like because he is a decent all around TE with good blocking skills, a surefire upgrade on Dickson...

[Rahul]

WHAT is goin on with Monroe ? Any update ?

[JamesA119]

"So if he's the heir-apparent to Boldin, why did the FO specifically address the need to find such a player this offseason? Do you typically discuss needing to find somebody who is already on your roster?"

You are taking what the front office say at face value. Anquan Boldin didn't gain his reputation on his rookie year. I can see Marlon grow into that role because he has the mentality that every ball thrown to him is his ball,, and he has very strong hands just like Boldin.

When the front office said that they were looking to replace Boldin, they never ruled out current players.

[rmcjacket23]

"So if he's the heir-apparent to Boldin, why did the FO specifically address the need to find such a player this offseason? Do you typically discuss needing to find somebody who is already on your roster?" You are taking what the front office say at face value. Anquan Boldin didn't gain his reputation on his rookie year. I can see Marlon grow into that role because he has the mentality that every ball thrown to him is his ball,, and he has very strong hands just like Boldin. When the front office said that they were looking to replace Boldin, they never ruled out current players.

Like I said... in two months, we will know.

And Boldin did develop that reputation in his rookie year... he caught 101 balls for close to 1400 yards and 8 TDs in his rookie year.

[JamesA119]

"And Boldin did develop that reputation in his rookie year... he caught 101 balls for close to 1400 yards and 8 TDs in his rookie year."

Boldin developed the reputation as a good WR in his rookie season, but he didn't become Q in his rookie season. The jury is definitely out on Marlon Brown, but I am optimistic.

[alexbrocato12]

Really hoping we can strike a deal with Julian Edelman. He's a good slot receiver and an even better returner which will help replace Jacoby.

[metalraven]

Does he have a choice? I thought the transition tag means, that the Browns can match any offer if they choose, and Mack would not have a say. Is that incorrect?

You know what. I guess I should't opine on this, because I'm not fully aware of all the details with his situation. You're probably right.

[reed20fence]

Smith is our kinda guy

[Heubs]

I'm saying no thank you to Steve Smith, I would much rather have James Jones.

[eek]

JamesA119 - Marlon needs 10-15lbs. that was one thing about boldin. he was the definition of a big body wr

[MarioB1]

From all these reports imagine if the Browns get Whitner, Revis , Dansby and then Draft Watkins. I'd be afraid of them. Ravens let's do some good in the draft & free agency.

[T-Phizzle]

Keep farming from the Texans! One day, JJ Watt, one day.....

Also, Browns are building a pretty strong defense if all this speculation is correct. Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron are going nowhere and their O-Line is nothing to scoff at.

[Ravens07]

Free agency champs never prosper.

2013: Dolphins - 8-8

2012: Bills - 4-12

2011: Eagles - 8-8

2010: Lions - 6-10

2009: Redskins - 8-8

The list goes on...

[H8R]

Yes, but any receiver we get is coming in as a slot type WR to make tough. Think of it this way... they want to find a younger Boldin.

So if Boldin was on the team in 2013, what percentage of the time do you think Marlon Brown would have been on the field? Its entirely conceivable that he would have been a gameday inactive for the majority of the season.

I agree that everybody plays a role, which is why I identified Brown as a "role player". His role will be situational, and in particular, probably as a depth player with upside in the red zone.

That's not the kind of description you give to a #2 WR. That's the kind of description you give to a #3 or 4 WR.

 

Ahh, they want Boldin.... Boldin didnt even play the slot when he WAS here.. So, I think your logic is flawed. And IMO, Marlon is an outside WR.

[MarioB1]

Hope we can still retain Graham , but I have a feeling the Ravens will get a steal this offseason

[mettro79]

Things are about to get interesting! I predict Ozzie will make an unorthodox move and make one big initial Free Agency signing. After that he'll do his normal sit back and wait so he can get more value for his buck.

[eek]

MarioB1 - i too would like to retain graham. but the FA CB Pool seems to get deeper by the hour