[News] Late For Work 5/18: Ozzie Newsome Losing Patience With Two Possible Contract Extensions?

[TheConquerorWorm]

If there was one additional second left in the game or an additional timeout left, Tucker would have had an opportunity to kick a game winning FG vs the Chargers this past season.  Having a kicker as accurate as Tucker is a weapon that many teams don't have the luxury of having.  You can't state enough how important Tucker has been to our success since he joined the Ravens.

I hope we re-sign Tucker too but let's put it in perspective. He was the 16th ranked K last year in FG% (85.3%). Right now, you could sign the most accurate college kicker last year for the rookie minimum and save salary cap space. I'm not saying that's the right way to go, but if Tucker wants $4 million per year, its time to move on. Yanda will be 31 this year. Sure he's been the top G in the NFL the past few years but at some point, sooner than later, age will catch up to him - most guards wear down at age 32. IMO, he can be replaced with a younger player (Urschel, Quadzilla, etc) or a cheap vet. Yanda knows this will probably be his final contract, so he's looking to max it out. Ask Ngata what it's like to play "chicken" with Ozzie.

[drillem]

Justin show us the same love we have showed you. Sign up to be a Raven for a long time. You gotta new wife, new home, new car, new wardrobe, lots of friends. Be nice to the team and city that has embraced you.

[hen826957]

Marshal Yanda is the only one I want Ozzie to extend this year Tucker and K.O. can wait next year. We got to extend Yanda now before it's too late then we could sign the rest.

[ellicottraven]

The minute Elliott Harrison ranked Alex Smith ahead of Joe Flacco, the NFL wisely replaced him with a janitor at the NFL NY offices. The smartest off season move by the NFL per PFF!

[bioLarzen]

It grieves me, and I can't believe I'm saying this because I am a HUGE Tucker fan, but with a great front line and a great quarterback, you win games with touchdowns, and the kicker is only there for kickoffs and extra points.

 

Do you know that the top three scoring Ravens are three kickers - Stover, Tucker and Cundiff? Yep, despite having played for "only" 3 seasons, Tucker scored the second most points in Baltimore Ravens history. His 401 points scored are almost 150 points more than Torrey (182) and  Boldin (86) combined. And he scored 117 more points than the best non-kicker (Jamal Lewis with 284 points - in 5 seasons, as opposed to Tucker's 3).

 

I would say that's a little more than "kickoffs and extra points".

Edited May 18, 2015 by bioLarzen

[fusuymada]

If Tucker and Yanda need to go because their contracts restrict the ability of Ozzie to do what he does best, draft new talent, then we don't need them. We have Urschel who stepped up when players were down and did a very good job and we will find Tuckers replacement just like we found Tucker. The worst thing the team can do is handcuff Ozzie because of a player or two and we have gone through three years of housecleaning and every year we seem to find the talent we need to be successful. Sad part of football as a team sport is no one wants to be a member of a team, they want to be a member of players with outrageous contracts. Ask the Dophins how that worked with Ellerbe (he is gone). Ask Cundiff who is unemployed, Ask the Browns about Kruger who they overpaid for. In Ozzie we trust and if Ozzie says we cant afford Yanda and Tucker, then we cant afford them.

Edited May 18, 2015 by fusuymada

[bioLarzen]

Marshal Yanda is the only one I want Ozzie to extend this year Tucker and K.O. can wait next year. We got to extend Yanda now before it's too late then we could sign the rest.

 

I would say that, despite Tucker's obvious importance, retaining one of the - if not The - best guard-tandems of the NFL would be one notch more important. However good Tucker is - and he is VERY good - it's still a smeller loss to replace him with an available kicker than trying to replace KO and/or Yanda... And much cheaper, too.

 

That said, I think both Yanda and Tucker stays at the end of the day. And I wish KO did too... But he'll be a lava-hot commodity on the free agent market if Ozzie lets him hit it...

Edited May 18, 2015 by bioLarzen

[fusuymada]

Do you know that the top three scoring Ravens are three kickers - Stover, Tucker and Cundiff? Yep, despite having played for "only" 3 seasons, Tucker scored the second most points in Baltimore Ravens history. His 401 points scored are almost 150 points more than Torrey (182) and  Boldin (86) combined. And he scored 117 more points than the best non-kicker (Jamal Lewis with 284 points - in 5 seasons, as opposed to Tucker's 3).

 

I would say that's a little more than "kickoffs and extra points".

Cundiff only played for three years also.  Are you saying that dumping Cundiff was a mistake based on the years he played just because he is third on the list.  I don't buy it and I don't buy that losing Tucker is the end of the world based on being second on the list after three years.  And he is not that far ahead of Cundiff.  Poor logic based on the reasoning.

[Mystigo_Dragon]

And,... that QB list above is why I continue to say any "expert" making most, better, best rankings without empirical data to back them is worthless,...  amounts to "Bark Shavings",... ya know what I mean?

Edited May 18, 2015 by Mystigo_Dragon

[TheConquerorWorm]

Do you know that the top three scoring Ravens are three kickers - Stover, Tucker and Cundiff? Yep, despite having played for "only" 3 seasons, Tucker scored the second most points in Baltimore Ravens history. His 401 points scored are almost 150 points more than Torrey (182) and  Boldin (86) combined. And he scored 117 more points than the best non-kicker (Jamal Lewis with 284 points - in 5 seasons, as opposed to Tucker's 3).

 

I would say that's a little more than "kickoffs and extra points".

That doesn't mean a thing. Did you know that K Phil Dawson is the 20th highest scorer in the history of the NFL ahead of EVERY QB, WR, RB, TE, etc. You think he's more valuable than Joe Montana? Jerry Rice? Jim Brown? Walter Payton? or EVERY Raven to ever play? The Top 31 are all kickers and there's only 2 non-kickers in the Top 50. Morten Anderson has more points than Jerry Rice & Emmitt Smith COMBINED. Still think it's a Valuable stat?

[hen826957]

@fusuymada you cannot replace Tucker he is one of a kicker Yanda maybe but he's still the best guard in the game that gonna be hard to replace. There is not gonna be another Justin Tucker Ozzie will sign him next year. Yanda is the one Ozzie have to get done this year when you sign Yanda it makes it easier to sign the rest plus lower Joe's cap number we will have a lot of space to sign both of them (K.O. & Tucker) next year.

[bioLarzen]

Are you saying that dumping Cundiff was a mistake based on the years he played just because he is third on the list.

 

In no way was it my intention to claim anything like that. I just wanted to point out that kickers usually do more than "kickoffs and extra points". Even Cundiff. But why would it be a problem to replace him with a better one?

[bioLarzen]

@fusuymada you cannot replace Tucker he is one of a kicker Yanda maybe but he's still the best guard in the game that gonna be hard to replace. There is not gonna be another Justin Tucker Ozzie will sign him next year. Yanda is the one Ozzie have to get done this year when you sign Yanda it makes it easier to sign the rest plus lower Joe's cap number we will have a lot of space to sign both of them (K.O. & Tucker) next year.

 

I agree that there would probably a smaller loss of production if we had to replace Tucker than having to replace either - let alone both - of our starting guards. Having to "replace" any of the Tucker/Yanda/KO trio would very probably mean a loss of production, so the best scenario would be to keep all three. But, if this was impossible, I would prefer the guards - and not because I wouldn't want to keep Tucker, but because having to replace either of the guards would probably mean a greater loss of production - and also more expensive and a bigger cap hit - than replacing Tucker with a lesser kicker. Losing Tucker over losing either/both of our starting guards would be the smaller bad, so to speak.

 

That said, lets hope we'll retain all three.

Edited May 18, 2015 by bioLarzen

[bioLarzen]

That doesn't mean a thing. Did you know that K Phil Dawson is the 20th highest scorer in the history of the NFL ahead of EVERY QB, WR, RB, TE, etc. You think he's more valuable than Joe Montana? Jerry Rice? Jim Brown? Walter Payton? or EVERY Raven to ever play? The Top 31 are all kickers and there's only 2 non-kickers in the Top 50. Morten Anderson has more points than Jerry Rice & Emmitt Smith COMBINED. Still think it's a Valuable stat?

 

I didn't say any of that, and neither did I wish to imply that - and frankly, I don't think what I wrote says that. Just take a look at what I wrote this as an aswer to.

[rodbestboy]

We really should make signing Tucker a priority. The kid is clutch and will likely be even more valuable if they change the extra point.

For the guard situation, I would sign Osemele to the longterm deal and then hit Yanda with the Franchise tag. He is a top 5 talent and deserves a top-5 salary, so we would have his services for another year and then see if we couldn't get a savings longer term based on him being a year older.

Lastly, the list of top-ten quarterbacks can't cut both ways, you either have a list of the top ten players regardless of their supporting cast, or you have a list of the top ten offenses. Peyton Manning might fit well into any offense as a top ten quarterback, but when you look at his supporting cast, it is not top ten. Just saying.

[757RavensFan]

Tucker also isn't afraid to make a tackle. We've seen him do it a few times.  He's a hard-nosed kicker/player that Ravens fans love to have on the team

[Ravens_Flock]

I still contend, with his burst and power, that Taliaferro could also become a starter, I'd LIKE to see him eventually be our starter. And he showed last year, among many other things, that he could pass block and catch out of the backfield, just fine.

[HomeoftheBRAVENS]

If we can't keep both gaurds then I think Osemele should be a priority over Yanda based on youth.Both are great players and both can and have played both gaurd and tackle for us but keeping Kelechi around will make us better for longer.It's the same decision the colts made at QB.They could've had Peyton for four more years or Luck for the next 15-20.Well we could extend Yanda(who has been difficult to negotiate with which is within his rights to do but still...) for four more years or we can hold on to Osemele and have a top level guard for the next ten years.It's an easy decision if you ask me.

Edited May 18, 2015 by HomeoftheBRAVENS

[HomeoftheBRAVENS]

Oh yeah I forgot to add that Javarius Allens highlight video on youtube is INSANE!

[ravensrock007]

Get those extensions done!

[hen826957]

I don't know @bioLarzen Tucker is the most important then Yanda and K.O. Tucker is really a weapon to the team; if you want the game winning field goal to win the game Tucker is your guy. I think Tucker is the most important but easier to sign so we could wait next year. Ozzie should sign either Yanda or K.O. this year but yeah I agree we do should all 3 they way to important to this team.

[evass#ravensnation]

Get yanda first then we worrie about tuck and KO next year

[ravens4life86]

Yanda and Tucker get it done

[MYTH420]

You have to get Yanda done, Tucker too. As far as Osemele goes, I say let him walk. Yes he is a great guard, but the amount of money he would cost could be better spent elsewhere. Especially when his replacement, John Urschel, already proved he can handle the role. Would you rather have K.O at guard for 30-35 million, or Urschel at guard and use that money to re-sign Tucker and get other pieces. It would be great to have both guards, but financially it makes sense to let K.O walk, just like we did with Grubbs.

[hen826957]

@terrynjulia03 I definitely agree I know it takes time to make a deal but if I was Yanda or K.O. I would get a extension now if they want to be a raven and don't waste any time and plus I will help the team out shoooo I would get that extension right now Jimmy did not waste any time. Yanda need to get his done now.

[rmcjacket23]

There's really no such thing as "the agent is the problem". Agents work for players. Its no different than hiring a real estate agent. The agent might be the one making the calls and doing the negotiating, but I guarantee the agent NEVER decides on the final price, and everytime a contract is offered, is relayed to the player for his approval. Its not like the agent is making a deal with a team and the player doesn't know what the terms are.
 
If the agent is perceived to be "difficult to work with", its almost certainly directly related to the player standing his ground and not accepting a deal for less than what he wants or what he thinks hes worth.

[rmcjacket23]

You have to get Yanda done, Tucker too. As far as Osemele goes, I say let him walk. Yes he is a great guard, but the amount of money he would cost could be better spent elsewhere. Especially when his replacement, John Urschel, already proved he can handle the role. Would you rather have K.O at guard for 30-35 million, or Urschel at guard and use that money to re-sign Tucker and get other pieces. It would be great to have both guards, but financially it makes sense to let K.O walk, just like we did with Grubbs.

The truth is that we really don't know what our financial situation will be at the moment. We let Grubbs go, primarily, because we didn't have the cap space to sign him, particularly after we had already signed Yanda. Its difficult to tell, right now, if we will have the kind of cap space required to sign both guards.

 

A lot of that, frankly, may depend on what happens with Joe next offseason. If we're able to free up $5-10M in cap space by extending him, then I have zero doubt our focus will go directly towards retaining our own players first.

[MissRay27]

Yanda must be asking a lot. As for Tucker give him a nice raise, but don't over pay.

[TorryGundy]

This is very similar to when we had Grubbs and a young Yanda. We wanted to keep both and pay both but Grubbs wanted more then we would be willing to accomidate. He played out his last year and we kept Yanda. I think Ozzie will continue to negotiate, but he wont come off his number. I hope we can retain both, however if we can't , i am sure Ozzie has already prepared for both scenerios.

[rmcjacket23]

This is very similar to when we had Grubbs and a young Yanda. We wanted to keep both and pay both but Grubbs wanted more then we would be willing to accomidate. He played out his last year and we kept Yanda. I think Ozzie will continue to negotiate, but he wont come off his number. I hope we can retain both, however if we can't , i am sure Ozzie has already prepared for both scenerios.

A bit of a misconception though. With Grubbs, it was probably never really about him wanting too much money. It was primarily a case of the Ravens just simply being unable to afford both at the rates that the market set for them.

 

Yanda signed his deal in 7/11, whereas Grubbs played out 2011 and then left in FA. I have no doubt it could have easily been the other way around.

 

For what its worth, both deals were pretty similar. Yanda signed at 5 for $32.5M, whereas Grubbs signed in FA at 5 for $36M, so you're really only talking a $700K difference per year.

 

The reality is that there was no way the Ravens were going to commit $70M to a couple of guards, with probably close to half of that guaranteed.

 

We will have to wait and see if the Ravens are willing to do the same in 2015/2016. I have my doubts. I think whoever signs first stays and whoever signs second signs with somebody else. Yanda's been one of the best guards in football for a long, long time now, and he feels like a prototype "Raven" player, but Osemele looks awfully impressive when he's playing and he 5 years younger.

 

I personally almost always side with the younger player in these cases, however I think guards can still play at a very high level well into their mid 30s, and I think Yanda has a good 2-3 years of All-Pro level play left in him.