Ravens Signings and Re-signings (actual and speculation)

[balfan23]

As for resignings Will Hill is most important in my opinion. He is our only proven safety and can do it all from safety position and that's a rare commodity around the NFL. It would be cool to bring Torrey back but not at expense of not being able to sign a TE and another WR that's more consistent.

I will be shocked if we don't retain Hill. Given he's an RFA and isn't a world-class, we should be able to provide a tender (2nd round, at the highest) and retain his services without too big of an expenditure. 

[PurpleCity5]

As for resignings Will Hill is most important in my opinion. He is our only proven safety and can do it all from safety position and that's a rare commodity around the NFL. It would be cool to bring Torrey back but not at expense of not being able to sign a TE and another WR that's more consistent.

I like Will as well and I don't think we'll lose him in the off-season. I'd like to see Torrey back but I'm not too optimistic, we lack cap and I'd love to see F.O have enough for K.O or Wagner(If he returns to form). 

[757RavensFan]

Danell Ellerbe is a likely cap cut by the dolphins. If he is we should seriously consider bringing him back!! Some fans forget how good he is. He didn't play with same fire with dolphins whose defense shows no attitude!! But he was awesome in Baltimore. He has safety speed and athleticism and is physical and explosive and he hits like a savage when he plays for the ravens. I was at the AFC championship game January 2013 and Patsie fans were petrified of Ellerbe more than Lewis. One way or another I'm for replacing Daryl Smith. I think we could get a Round5-6 pick for him considering we are paying part of his salary and he still is a good LB. Its just he has clearly lost a half step and is way on the wrong side of 30!! I know some fans will be angry at the idea of trading a good player but if the Ravens don't replace Smith now when the opportunity is there, the Ravens will be going into the off season next year at this time with 3 aging LBsLBs all well over 30 whose play could fall off as early as next year. We could be talking bout Smiths and Suggs down year next draft season. And Dumervil as well will be 32 and he is the youngest of the bunch. I think Dumervil will have another very productive year next year but scenario is of all of the older LBs having off years and showing their age has to be taken in consideration. Finding legit replacements for Suggs and Smith would be enough of a challenge!!

If not Ellerbe then Sean Weatherspoon and Daryl Washington should be seriously considered in my opinion. They all would be bargains for various reasons but either would make a ferocious 3 down tandem with Mosley. I would lean towards Washington or Weather spoon cuz they are 26 and 27 while Ellerbe will be 29 next year. However at 29 he is still is in his prime and he has experience with the Ravens. So any of them would be a winner to pair up with Mosley. It would give the ravens 2 instinctful and physical 3 down LBs with the athleticism speed and cover skills of many hard hitting strong safety's. They can cover TEs and RBs man up and patrol zones over the middle like 2 extra hard hitting Safety's. Then if we add a Michael Bennett or Grady Jarett in the draft and that's the most ferocious and active front7 in the NFL!!

 

Why bring Ellerbe back when you have D. Smith, CJ Mosely, and Arthur Brown?

[Pirate88]

Arthur brown has just barely flashed and has physicality and instinct issues. It looks as if even if he does make some strides he won't be anything worth writing about.

Mosley is a prototype of what I consider the most underrated position in all of the major sports. Ilb or any traditional LB position in a 4-3. Which is exactly why I would prefer Ellerbe back or Weatherspoon or Washington lining up beside him. Due to decreased roles of RBs the ilb position is not considered a premium position which is why we were able to draft him #17 when he was a to 10 talent or better. Its why Lavonte David went in Rd2. Most Teams are naievely content with a physical 2 down run defender who leaves the field on down#3 for a soft cover specialist LB. Problem is good and great teams with franchise QBs throw on early downs often. And the physical instinctful 2down LB may as well just be a coach on the field cuz he lacks speed and athleticism to get depth in his drops in a flash and serve as an extra big hard hitting strong safety covering a RB or pro bowl TE or patrol a zone like another SS on the field and close on the guy making the catch or trying to make the catch in a flash with a hard hit or pass breakup and put fear in the QBs targets. Pro bowl ILB has become even more of a priority instead of less cuz a 2 down LB will get torched by RBs and TEs and offer no help over intermediate part of the field cuz they lack speed and athleticism. The coverage specialist gets blocked and misses tackles or just ran over.

Daryl Smith is well over 30 and will be in his mid 30s by next yrs Superbowl. While still a good player he has clearly lost a step and will be a liability in coverage. He plays smart but when LBs or corners begin using smarts and try to make up for athletic skills its not long b4 they become a liability and the team scrambles for a replacement as they are cut or let go in FA. Any retired great Linebacker could tell the story including Urlacher Brooks Reed to name several. Besides the ravens don't wanna go into next off season with 3 LBs well on the wrong side of 30. Daryll may have an OK year next year. However the opportunity to get a physical instinctful pro bowl caliber 3 down LB for a bargain price is this year with Weatherspoon Ellerbe and Washington. Weatherspoon is the most destructive hitter of them but they all bring the wood while athletic and fast as strong safety's. Daryl's play could diminish and really hurt the Defense. He clearly lost a half step so far. Having another LB in the same league as Mosley is a huge advantage and QBs and WRs will tell you that having to worry about being lit up by those rare physical LBs with safety speed and cover skills that they don't have to worry about in most games is what disrupts them most cuz They have to look out for an extra defender or 2 while trying getting open and or trying to catch the ball. Daryl is still a good smart player but we have the opportunity to replace him with a great player. He is getting older and no matter how great a driver is he won't win races if his car loses to much speed and performance.

[PurpleCity5]

It's extend or cut with Ngata, we'll be dealing with Rice's cap hit this year at $9.5M which is just gosh awful... 

 

Torrey is really our big FA as I don't see us keeping McPhee, so he's someone that F.O will be working with the most which is great in some aspects, Owen Daniels is a guy I'd love to keep as well but I'd keep eyes open on the open market and determine the value. 

[Pirate88]

I agree dude. The Rice contract was inexcusable for Oz. Even Dallas wouldn't give Murray $40mil and he was near 2000 yards!! RBs aren't worth that kinna $$ in the modern NFL. Especially with all the wear on Rice's tires. There isn't much difference in good RBs and great RBs and Rice wasn't really great. RBs are more a product of their system. My opinion is use early Rd picks on dominant OLineman once you have a franchise QB of course and find a Round4 RB to run for 2000 yards!! You got RBs coming off practice squads and cut for other teams running for 158 yards or more and averaging 5.0 yards a carry or more. You don't see that from any other position. Ray Rice looked to be slowing some anyways and had a lot of carries in college as well. I don't know what Oz was thinking on that one or the Pitta contract after countless injuries or signing Jacoby like he was starter caliber. If he is going to be given credit and called Wizard for good decisions then his bad decisions need to be factored in and answered to. Like I said even Jerry Jones knows better than that.

[Tru11]

rice was 1 of the top back in the nfl pretty much every season except his rookie season and 2013 lol.

he was among the best in yards from scrimmage due to him being able to run and catch the ball.

you could argue he was more of an all round back then AP since AP was pretty much a non factor in the passing game.

 

also for him to be slowing down im not sure.

he got injured early in the season and we all know how terrible the o-line was or is that only a excuse for flacco lol

[Kid87]

I'd rather have McPhee than Torrey. But we probably will keep Torrey and forsett. I wanna keep Gorrer who is underrated, and Tyrod Taylor who is a decent back-up QB. Owen Daniels is a Must. But he will follow Kubiak if Tamme of Thimas leaves.

 

1.Mcphee

2. Forsett

3. Torrey

4. Owen Daniels

5. Gorrer

6. Taylor

[GrimCoconut]

This free agency is pretty good for us. There are enough RB out there who could go well in this system with our OL. I won't bother to list them yet, but I think we could find another Forsett. There are also some very underrated TE out there as well of whom we could acquire. I'd even say the same about a guy to replace McPhee. I can think of two guys off my head who could come relatively cheap, imo

[rmcjacket23]

I agree dude. The Rice contract was inexcusable for Oz. Even Dallas wouldn't give Murray $40mil and he was near 2000 yards!! RBs aren't worth that kinna $$ in the modern NFL. Especially with all the wear on Rice's tires. There isn't much difference in good RBs and great RBs and Rice wasn't really great. RBs are more a product of their system. My opinion is use early Rd picks on dominant OLineman once you have a franchise QB of course and find a Round4 RB to run for 2000 yards!! You got RBs coming off practice squads and cut for other teams running for 158 yards or more and averaging 5.0 yards a carry or more. You don't see that from any other position. Ray Rice looked to be slowing some anyways and had a lot of carries in college as well. I don't know what Oz was thinking on that one or the Pitta contract after countless injuries or signing Jacoby like he was starter caliber. If he is going to be given credit and called Wizard for good decisions then his bad decisions need to be factored in and answered to. Like I said even Jerry Jones knows better than that.

And yet, at the exact time of when his contract was handed out, the majority of the fanbase was praising Ozzie for locking him up long-term, and the even vague thought of Rice being allowed to walk in FA would have caused a fan uprising the likes of which Baltimore has never seen.

 

Hindsight is a great asset for fans, but its also a worthless asset.

[GrimCoconut]

And yet, at the exact time of when his contract was handed out, the majority of the fanbase was praising Ozzie for locking him up long-term, and the even vague thought of Rice being allowed to walk in FA would have caused a fan uprising the likes of which Baltimore has never seen.

Hindsight is a great asset for fans, but its also a worthless asset.

Some of us didn't want him to be re-signed. I recall at least myself and one other member who were very much in agreement that handing a RB a big money contract is a mistake. I didn't hate it when we re-signed him, because I like Ray and while I knew he'd slow down, I hoped he'd maintain his ability as a receiving weapon. Again, while I didn't hate the contract I hardly praised it and questioned the deal for the long-term benefit of the team.

So no, some of us didn't praise the signing.

Edited February 18, 2015 by GrimCoconut

[rmcjacket23]

Some of us didn't want him to be re-signed. I recall at least myself and one other member who were very much in agreement that handing a RB a big money contract is a mistake. I didn't hate it when we re-signed him, because I like Ray and while I knew he'd slow down, I hoped he'd maintain his ability as a receiving weapon. Again, while I didn't hate the contract I hardly praised it and questioned the deal for the long-term benefit of the team.

So no, some of us didn't praise the signing.

Thus my precise words of "the majority of the fanbase". I'm not really interested in what a small minority of the fanbase thought.

 

I'm sure the same small minority hated the idea of giving Joe Flacco top tier money also, but when the same question that was presented for Rice was presented for Flacco, we all got the same blank answer... what is the alternative?

[GrimCoconut]

Thus my precise words of "the majority of the fanbase". I'm not really interested in what a small minority of the fanbase thought.

I'm sure the same small minority hated the idea of giving Joe Flacco top tier money also, but when the same question that was presented for Rice was presented for Flacco, we all got the same blank answer... what is the alternative?

I guess if you're talking about the vast majority then yeah, you're right. No argument from me there. I was fine with giving Joe the money, FWIW. That's the going rate of QB and with inflation I doubt it'll be a crippling number compared to future contracts soon to come

[Bltravens]

Some of us didn't want him to be re-signed. I recall at least myself and one other member who were very much in agreement that handing a RB a big money contract is a mistake. I didn't hate it when we re-signed him, because I like Ray and while I knew he'd slow down, I hoped he'd maintain his ability as a receiving weapon. Again, while I didn't hate the contract I hardly praised it and questioned the deal for the long-term benefit of the team.

So no, some of us didn't praise the signing.

Think it was me....though in hindsight to keep myself accountable I said Pierce would be able to rush for 1,000 at cheaper cost and to just find a 3rd down back who could scoot out of the backfield lol...oops.

[CalvinSmoke]

Think it was me....though in hindsight to keep myself accountable I said Pierce would be able to rush for 1,000 at cheaper cost and to just find a 3rd down back who could scoot out of the backfield lol...oops.

ms. Cleo didn't see Pierce struggling the way he did

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I guess if you're talking about the vast majority then yeah, you're right. No argument from me there. I was fine with giving Joe the money, FWIW. That's the going rate of QB and with inflation I doubt it'll be a crippling number compared to future contracts soon to come

I also was against the rice contract. Wanted to resign him but not for that money - I saw his struggles being in part due to the line but also saw his balance was off bc he packed on too much upper body weight for durability which also robbed some of his quickness and his vision was suffering.

General wear and tear also seemed to be taking it's toll as he was a featured back throughout high school, college and the majority of his nfl career.

It was just far too much guaranteed for a declining back of his age with that much mileage. But I too thought Pierce would build on his rookie year which he hasn't done.

That being said Rice would've had a great year under Kubiak, maybe not the rushing totals Forsett had but as a dual threat would have been amongst the league leaders.

More to the point id like to resign Forsett if he'll take a reasonable salary with heavy incentive based bonuses and escalators for 3-4 years.

If not I think taliaferro is ready to become a feature back.

[Whos_Up_Next]

I'd rather have McPhee than Torrey. But we probably will keep Torrey and forsett. I wanna keep Gorrer who is underrated, and Tyrod Taylor who is a decent back-up QB. Owen Daniels is a Must. But he will follow Kubiak if Tamme of Thimas leaves.

 

1.Mcphee

2. Forsett

3. Torrey

4. Owen Daniels

5. Gorrer

6. Taylor

McPhee is a situation player. While it's nice to have a situational player, Torrey Smith is a starter and if we don't keep him our options are limited to replace him. 

[Whos_Up_Next]

I also was against the rice contract. Wanted to resign him but not for that money - I saw his struggles being in part due to the line but also saw his balance was off bc he packed on too much upper body weight for durability which also robbed some of his quickness and his vision was suffering.

General wear and tear also seemed to be taking it's toll as he was a featured back throughout high school, college and the majority of his nfl career.

It was just far too much guaranteed for a declining back of his age with that much mileage. But I too thought Pierce would build on his rookie year which he hasn't done.

That being said Rice would've had a great year under Kubiak, maybe not the rushing totals Forsett had but as a dual threat would have been amongst the league leaders.

More to the point id like to resign Forsett if he'll take a reasonable salary with heavy incentive based bonuses and escalators for 3-4 years.

If not I think taliaferro is ready to become a feature back.

Forsett I think should be signed to a 2 year deal with incentives and a small bonus. I would be weary about paying a running back who had a breakout year at age 29 and is turning 30. I'd definetly want to see Taliaferro get more carries next year

[Ravenslifer]

And yet, at the exact time of when his contract was handed out, the majority of the fanbase was praising Ozzie for locking him up long-term, and the even vague thought of Rice being allowed to walk in FA would have caused a fan uprising the likes of which Baltimore has never seen.

 

Hindsight is a great asset for fans, but its also a worthless asset.

 

That's because a bunch of people think stats and pro bowl value = importance to a team.  They don't believe that a viable franchise quarterback is better than any pro bowl RB or receiver.  Doesn't mean they're right, but that's how a lot of people are - they think "decorated player + stats" = deserves a payday

[JO_75]

While Ngata may or may not get an extension, the Ravens are also trying to get Webb to restructure his contract as well. Webb is due $8M in base salary and will count $12M against the cap.

 

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/5331/lardarius-webb

Edited February 25, 2015 by JO_75

[PolishRifle]

That's because a bunch of people think stats and pro bowl value = importance to a team.  They don't believe that a viable franchise quarterback is better than any pro bowl RB or receiver.  Doesn't mean they're right, but that's how a lot of people are - they think "decorated player + stats" = deserves a payday

 

Even, if we suck at finding star WRs (and we do) people have to understand, that it's much more difficult to find a franchise QB. Just ask the Browns or Jets or Cardinals. There were about 20 teams in the league, that wished they could've given that money to Joe.

Edited February 25, 2015 by PolishRifle

[BmoreBird22]

Even, if we suck at finding star WRs (and we do) people have to understand, that it's much more difficult to find a franchise QB. Just ask the Browns or Jets or Cardinals. There were about 20 teams in the league, that wished they could've given that money to Joe.

I think it's more a lack of trying... the Ravens typically draft receivers late and it's far harder to find a star receiver late. It's like they haven't had the intention to draft receivers high (Bryant, and I'm sure they'd have nabbed OBJ), it's just the opportunity isn't always there

[PolishRifle]

I think it's more a lack of trying... the Ravens typically draft receivers late and it's far harder to find a star receiver late. It's like they haven't had the intention to draft receivers high (Bryant, and I'm sure they'd have nabbed OBJ), it's just the opportunity isn't always there

 

Kubiak wanted Ozzie to get him a big target WR or TE for the next season. I wonder if Oz still gonna try to get one.

[ravensnick]

Kubiak wanted Ozzie to get him a big target WR or TE for the next season. I wonder if Oz still gonna try to get one.

To note, where we usually draft doesn't help. All the quality guys are gone, even at 17 last year. 

Edited February 25, 2015 by ravensnick

[PolishRifle]

To note, where we usually draft doesn't help. All the quality guys are gone, even at 17 last year. 

 

We passed on Keenan Allen twice in 2013. I remember yelling at my laptop that year. We really needed Matt Elam and Arthur Brown, I guess. Draft position is no excuse. Talent can be found anywhere, if you know how to look for it. The Steelers know how to, they found Antonio Brown in the 6th round.

Edited February 25, 2015 by PolishRifle

[BmoreBird22]

Kubiak wanted Ozzie to get him a big target WR or TE for the next season. I wonder if Oz still gonna try to get one.

Three receivers were taken before the Ravens got to pick at 16 and Mosley was far better than any other taken in the first round.

[BmoreBird22]

We passed on Keenan Allen twice in 2013. I remember yelling at my laptop that year. We really needed Matt Elam and Arthur Brown, I guess. Draft position is no excuse. Talent can be found anywhere, if you know how to look for it. The Steelers know how to, they found Antonio Brown in the 6th round.

But how many Antonio Browns are there in the league? The Bengals had to find theirs at 4 overall.

I was mad as hell the Ravens passed on Allen, but there was serious concern about his medical history checking out

[Ravenseconbeast]

Three receivers were taken before the Ravens got to pick at 16 and Mosley was far better than any other taken in the first round.

Hands down, Mosley was the best pick @16

And we are going to grab the BPA @ this years draft. Tbh I think there are a lot better picks for DBs @26 than WRs.

[Whos_Up_Next]

While Ngata may or may not get an extension, the Ravens are also trying to get Webb to restructure his contract as well. Webb is due $8M in base salary and will count $12M against the cap.

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/5331/lardarius-webb

Webb wil get restructured. He already did it in the 2014 season and he's all for helping us.

[757RavensFan]

Webb wil get restructured. He already did it in the 2014 season and he's all for helping us.

 

I didn't know that. Are you sure about that? 

 

EDIT: Never mind, I see they restructured $4M in 2014. 

Edited February 25, 2015 by 757RavensFan